From the history of charity in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Merchants of Nizhny Novgorod

In the traditions of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants it was: "Profit is above all, but honor is above profit." These traditions have deep roots. Since ancient times, the best entrepreneurial people were led to fulfill the four main commandments: the first is to make good in righteous ways, the second is to use what has been obtained with reason, the third is to spare no share for those who are in need, and the fourth is not to tempt fate in vain. Long before the famous "Domostroi" Russian merchants put morality in the first place and did not start any serious business without prayer. And so it went on for centuries.

Whether in the 16th or 17th century, not to mention the earlier centuries, merchant names were famous throughout Russia, including Nizhny Novgorod. And how could the people of Nizhny Novgorod not become famous? One of the most ancient trade routes passed by their houses - the blue Volga itself. And was it not from the Nizhny Novgorod berths that Afanasy Nikitin, the most famous of the famous merchants, once sailed off with luggage and supplies, heading for fabulous India? Yes, and Nizhny Novgorod merchants walked to all parts of the world. And in the transcendental Mangazeya, perhaps, more than once the path was tormented.

The goods used to be lost, but the honor never. And it was not the merchant's gentility that raised the merchant - beneficence. Everyone knew that a good merchant would never compromise his conscience: truth is a bought couscous, and a lie is stolen. If someone is dishonest, he will not escape shame, the judgment of the world will not escape, and where there is shame, there is ruin.

It is not for nothing that the merchant Kuzma Minin, who raised the people of honesty to the liberation of Russia from a foreign enemy and from his traitors, has been looked up to by whole generations as a moral model.

In the "Scribes" among the townspeople of Nizhny Novgorod are called "the best people", that along the Volga "they go to the bottom and top by ships and who trade in all sorts of goods in large quantities." A well-known merchant from the drawing-room of a hundred, Semyon Zadorin, was engaged in the salt and fish trade.

They knew in Nizhny the eminent Stroganovs that the banks of the Oka were filled with salt barns.

Entrepreneurship and talent created glory for the Nizhny Novgorod merchants Olisovs, Bolotovs, Pushnikovs, Shchepetilnikovs, Olovyannikovs. Favorable conditions, and sometimes, on the contrary, the most difficult obstacles accompanied the advancement of the most capable and stubborn people from the people to the merchant class, to the first ranks of industrialists and financiers.

Especially many talents among merchants appeared in Russia during the post-reform period. The strongest turned out to be people from Old Believer families, where the upbringing was very harsh. It was they who became the backbone of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants. If someone really got out into people, then often it was not at all by chance. As for the scoundrels, tyrants and burned-out merchants, the same Ryabushinsky mentioned above said beautifully about them: “True, there were such people, and many, and I know by names of others, but I will not reproach. Besides, in many of them there was not only bad, but also good; Some have intelligence, some have talent, some have scope, some have generosity. I will not shame and disgrace them or my native city, but I will pray to God for those whom I know ”.

BINDERS Fyodor Petrovich

In 1816, its vowel Fyodor Petrovich Perepletchikov was elected chairman of the City Duma, who played an outstanding role in the history of the development and improvement of Nizhny Novgorod. Perepletchikov came from a merchant family that was engaged in rope craft, which was very common in Nizhny at the time of sailing (at that time, in the area of ​​modern Korolenko, Novaya and Gorky streets, there were numerous rope spinning mills). Fyodor Petrovich achieved great art in the inheritance business. Perepletchikov ropes were valued throughout the Volga. But the greatest fame to Fedor Petrovich was brought not by entrepreneurship, but by activities in the field of city government. He was elected city mayor three times and became famous as a prudent business executive and a generous benefactor.
Both his contemporaries and descendants evaluated his activities only in an excellent degree: the most generous philanthropist (city leaders used the income of the bookbinder's capital even in 1918!); the most charming (the ability to convince listeners, to be an interesting interlocutor aroused the envy of his contemporaries; Perepletchikov managed to charm even the All-Russian autocrat Nicholas I); the most far-sighted (it is to this mayor that Nizhny owes many buildings and undertakings); the most remarkable and famous (a city street was named after him, and on January 10 every year in the churches of Nizhny Novgorod an eternal commemoration according to F.P. Perepletchikov was served).
At the time of his election, Perepletchikov was only 31 years old, but he was already respected in the city. No wonder he was entrusted with the city treasury with all monetary reporting. As the main city financier, Fyodor Petrovich in 1812 took an active part in raising funds for the needs of the people's militia. He also showed an example of disinterested care for refugees from Moscow, tried with all his might to alleviate the needs of Muscovites. He sheltered some of them in his own home.

In 1816, when Perepletchikov was elected chairman of the City Duma, a terrible fire destroyed the Makaryevskaya fair. Perepletchikov acted as a convinced supporter of the resumption of this fair not in the same place, near the walls of the monastery, but in Nizhny. He understood what benefits this would bring to the city, and did everything to make this transfer take place. And I was not mistaken in the calculations. Since 1817, Nizhny Novgorod began to grow rich, improve and expand before our eyes.
Information about the outstanding citizens of Nizhny Novgorod from the merchant class is taken from various sources.
In 1831, two daughters of F.P. Perepletchikova. He was very upset with the bitterness of loss and decided to donate part of his fortune to help the poor. On January 15, 1832, the city Duma considered Perepletchikov's letter, in which he donated to the city the 8 buildings of the Nikolsky market that belonged to him, so that the income from the lease of these premises would go to the poor.

Another significant gift from Perepletchikov to the city was the stone house bequeathed by him in favor of the City Duma with two wings and a piece of land (now Rozhdestvenskaya St., 6). In his will, Fyodor Petrovich indicated that after his death, the income from this house should be at the disposal of the mayor in favor of "charitable institutions and the poor of Nizhny Novgorod." According to Perepletchikov's will, the mayor had to personally dispose of this money, without reporting to anyone, since, as Fyodor Petrovich especially emphasized in his will, “honest, prudent and benevolent people are always elected to this position,” who will not use this income in their benefit, but use it "to help the poor."
In 1834-1836. the city Duma was again chaired by F.P. Perepletchikov, who corrected the position of the mayor for the third time. This three-year period passed under the sign of two visits of Emperor Nicholas I, as a result of which Nizhny Novgorod was completely transformed.
For the third year already, the tsar traveled around Russian cities and everywhere gave impetus to the construction of roads and improvement. This also happened in Nizhny Novgorod. By this time, it was finally clear that the city could not cope with the influx of goods and visitors during the summer fair season. Carts with goods went from the Muromsky and Kazansky tracts to the fair through the Kremlin. However, the gates of the Dmitrievskaya and Ivanovskaya towers turned out to be too small for their flow, which caused many hours of congestion. The streets were not adapted to such a number of carts. They were narrow and rather randomly built up with wooden manor-type houses.

Tsar Nikolai was well versed in engineering and architecture, so all the flaws in the layout of Nizhny Novgorod immediately caught his eye. During his stay in Nizhny (October 10-12, 1834), he ordered to radically rebuild the city, giving architects and officials a number of detailed instructions. The mayor also received them.
Fyodor Petrovich was called to the tsar's office (Nikolai stayed in the house of the military governor on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya). Before the sovereign lay the old plan of the city (1824), which, according to the tsar's will, was to radically change. The emperor in detail devoted Perepletchikov and other representatives of local authorities to his plans. The most important thing was to make ramps for transport bypassing the Kremlin. Nikolay drew their direction with his own hand on the plan. In total, the list of royal orders for the improvement of the city made up a list of 33 items. The emperor, in particular, ordered to buy out all the private houses in the Kremlin, arrange a boulevard along its walls, erect the Upper Volga and Nizhnevolzhskaya embankments, build a garden along the banks of the Volga, straighten the streets, build new barracks and a number of other buildings.
Nikolai also personally discussed the issue of building barracks on the future Nizhnevolzhskaya embankment with the chairman of the Duma, Perepletchikov. Their construction was supposed, finally, to save the townspeople from the standing of the soldiers (the Kremlin barracks could not accommodate all the servicemen of the garrison). Funds for the construction were raised by the City Duma, introducing a special tax from the "real estate" of Nizhny Novgorod residents.


Other work on the improvement of the city was carried out at the expense of the state. To finance them, on January 5, 1836, a tax was introduced from ships bringing goods to the fair. However, the townspeople had to bear the high costs of moving their own houses to new places in connection with the redevelopment of streets. But here, too, the state came to their aid. In the Nizhny Novgorod order of public charity (a provincial institution in charge of the "social sphere" and at the same time having the right to conduct credit and financial activities) was placed the so-called. "Auxiliary capital". In 1836, the City Duma considered the issue of a loan from it for issuing a loan to residents for the construction of houses.
On August 15-17, 1836 Nizhny Novgorod was again visited by Nicholas I. He checked the progress of the work and gave another 54 instructions for the improvement of the city.
On August 16, a solemn reception of officials of the city and the nobility took place in the Main Fair House. There, the emperor singled out the mayor F.P. Perepletchikov, referring to him as a representative Nizhny Novgorod merchants, "Fellow citizens of the most famous of this class, Kozma Minin."
It must be said that Nicholas the First had deep respect for the memory of the savior of Moscow and even wanted to find out if his descendants remained in Nizhny. Bookbinders took this desire of the sovereign to heart and began to explore the family tree of Minin. Interest in Minin's personality gave impetus to Perepletchikov's yet another charitable initiative. In 1836, the City Duma considered the case "on the construction in Nizhny Novgorod of a house called Mininsky for the charity of poor citizens and retired honored soldiers." Perepletchikov gave 1000 rubles of personal money for this and collected another 4500 rubles from other donors. But this undertaking was realized only after 30 years.

BLINOV Fyodor Andreevich, Aristarkh Andreevich, Nikolay Andreevich

One of the brightest representatives of the Nizhny Novgorod merchant elite was Fyodor Blinov. He started out trading in bread and salt. Got six steamers ("Lion", "Dove", "Voevoda", "Blinov", "Helper", "North"). With their help, a resourceful merchant transported grain cargoes along the Volga, and also delivered salt from Astrakhan and Perm to Rybinsk (only Astrakhan sedimentary salt “Eltonka” up to 350 thousand poods per season). Blinov carried out salt grinding in Nizhny Novgorod at a horse mill, which he built on Sofronovskaya square (now Markina square).
The salt business was very profitable, but there were many dangerous temptations. In 1869, for participation "out of frivolity" in the waste of government salt and for violating the established rules for keeping trade books, Blinov was sentenced to seven days' arrest in prison and compensation for government damage in the amount of 150,096 rubles 70 kopecks. After that, he was engaged only in grain business. Together with his younger brothers Aristarkh and Nikolai, Fyodor Andreevich owned mills in the Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan provinces, traded in grain, flour and cereals in Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Blinov was a generous benefactor and did a lot for the city. At his own expense, he paved the Sofronovskaya Square and the Assumption Congress to the Oka (1861), made a large donation for the creation of the Nizhny Novgorod city public bank. He gave a thousand rubles to set up a temporary hospital for cholera patients (1872), 6 thousand rubles - for the establishment of craft classes at the First Children's Shelter (1874), 5 thousand - for setting up a laundry in the Second Children's Shelter (1876) , 3 thousand rubles - for the repair of buildings of orphanages (1877). Finally, with his brothers Aristarchus and Nikolai, he donated a gigantic sum of 125 thousand rubles for the construction of a water supply system in Nizhny Novgorod (1878).
The City Duma in 1871 formed a special commission, which prepared a plan for the construction of a new water supply system and an estimate of costs. It turned out that no more than 450 thousand rubles would be required. Then tenders were announced for this work. They were won by the English firm "Malisson", which undertook to execute the project for 417 thousand.


To pay off the contractor, the Duma prepared to take a loan of 450 thousand rubles out of 5% per annum for a period of 50 years. To pay off it was supposed to increase the tax on homeowners. It was here that the Nizhny Novgorod Duma received a statement from the brothers Fedor, Aristarkh and Nikolai Blinov, merchants A.P. and N.A. Bugrovykh and merchant U.S. Kurbatov. To save the city from a loan, and homeowners from raising the tax, they donated 250 thousand of personal money (Blinovs - 125 thousand, Bugrovs - 75 thousand, Kurbatov - 50 thousand). At the same time, the benefactors set a condition: "The use of water from the new water supply system should be free for all classes of Nizhny Novgorod for eternity."

Aristarkh Andreevich and Nikolai Andreevich Blinovs owned flour mills and cereal factories in the Volga region. Rozhdestvenskaya Street in Nizhny is still adorned with a passage building built by the Blinovs.

BUGROVY Petr Egorovich, Alexander Petrovich and Nikolay Alexandrovich

The founder of the most famous merchant dynasty in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Peter Egorovich Bugrov, was noticed by Vladimir Ivanovich Dal. He was delighted with the resourcefulness and enterprise of a specific peasant from the village of Popovo, Semyonovsky district. In an essay about him, the writer tells how, with honest work and mind, Petrukha the balalaika player achieved a satisfying meal and turned from a dumpy barge haule into a major grain merchant, having installed mills on the Linde River. In addition, Bugrov contracted the construction of government buildings and carried out orders in the shortest possible time. At the Lower City Fair, under his watch, bridges were built across the canals. No one was able to strengthen the slope near the Kremlin, sliding into the Volga, until the smart contractor Bugrov took over this business. When, during the Crimean War, the Nizhny Novgorodians gathered the militia from recruits, Bugrov equipped a wagon train for him. The book by AV Sedov "Nizhny Novgorod feat of VI Dal" (N. Novgorod, 1993) contains the following opinion of the writer about Bugrov, included by Dal in his letter to the minister of destinies: "Your Excellency! I dare to introduce the most wonderful peasant in the entire Nizhny family estate, Pyotr Egorovich Bugrov. This is one of those clever minds who have achieved the title of the first contractor of Nizhny Novgorod from a draft hooker. "

The grandson of Pyotr Yegorovich, Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov, managed in a clever way to dispose of the millions of capitals acquired by his grandfather and father, having made them more expensive. He was already an omnipotent master who controlled the fate of many people and who was called the uncrowned king of Nizhny Novgorod. Thanks to this powerful man, industries arose and developed, trade flourished, and an unprecedented construction took place. And in the women's lull in Ker, in the Old Believer sketes, they prayed for him as a benefactor and patron.

In the description of M. Gorky, the younger Bugrov appears to be a rather gloomy nature. Even Bugrov's appearance makes a repulsive impression.

“I often met this man on the shopping streets of the city: big, overweight, in a long frock coat that looked like a jersey, in brightly polished boots and a woolen cap, he walked with a heavy gait, thrust his hands into his pockets, walked to meet people, as if he had not seen them, and they made way for him not only with respect, but almost with fear. "

The fact that Bugrov did not forget about conscience, that he tried to observe the code of honor that had been verified for centuries, and that his moral obligations were dear to him, was preserved in documents and in legends many facts. After a fire in 1853, when the theater on Bolshaya Pecherka burned down, Nikolai Alexandrovich's grandfather rented out to the theater his apartment building on Blagoveshchenskaya Square. The noisy performances, where, as the younger Bugrov believed, "naked women jump over naked men," did not fit in with the moral principles of the devout Old Believer, and he turned to the city duma with a request to sell him his grandfather's house. The Duma respected the request of the venerable businessman. Having bought the building, Bugrov handed it over to the Duma free of charge, setting only a condition that "henceforth, the construction of any theater or entertainment establishment should never be allowed in this building."

Nikolai Alexandrovich himself, with huge capital, was content with little; He did not drink or smoke the drunken one, his usual food was cabbage soup and porridge with black bread, he dressed simply - a sheepskin coat, a frock coat, boots ...

And he had dozens of steamers, steam mills, warehouses, piers, hundreds of acres of forest, whole villages. In 1896 Bugrov received the right to supply grain for the entire Russian army. He had offices in twenty tsati largest cities Russia. Bugrov's partnership in 1908 processed 4,600 poods of grain per day.

At the stock exchange, where the eminent Nizhny Novgorod merchants discussed transactions, arranging in in a separate room ritual tea drinking, Bugrov was invariably revered as the main and foremost. Here each table was nicknamed with the meaning: "insurance", "delivery", "oil", "trusted table", "millionth". Naturally, according to custom, Bugrov, who came to the stock exchange at noon, sat down at the "millionth" table with the richest merchants.

And in the Duma, and at the stock exchange, and at the fair, and in commercial offices, the first word was for Bugrov. He conducted his affairs with brilliance, skillfully and promptly. Knowing his worth, he did not lose his dignity when meeting with the tsar, and he addressed the Minister of Finance Witte, as well as the Governor of Nizhny Novgorod, Baranov, as “you”.

In the tradition of Nizhny Novgorod merchants, there were so-called "alms days", during which each of the moneybags was obliged to endow the poor, no matter how many of them came to the gate, with generous alms. The good businessmen did not want to hear about themselves offensive sayings: "Minin's beard, but the conscience is clay." We tried not only to be known, but also to be benefactors. Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bugrov also did not skimp on alms.

In the days of the memory of his illustrious ancestor, he arranged "funeral tables". They were placed on Gorodets Square, filling them with bread and jugs with kvass. Poor brethren came here from all the neighborhoods, receiving a gift of food and silver dimes. It was Bugrov who built the famous shelter for the homeless, a shelter for widows and orphans, spared no expense for the construction of churches, hospitals and schools. The foundations of the Bugrovsky buildings are still strong, and his houses themselves still serve people without fail.

Bugrov acquired a lot - he gave a lot. Having lived for more than seventy years (1837-1911), he proved by deeds how a Russian person can be active, enterprising, calculating, and at the same time magnanimous and generous.

When Nikolai Alexandrovich was buried, the whole city followed the coffin. Without stopping, steamers hummed on the spring Volga, giving the last honor to the owner. In the newspaper obituary, he was named first of all "a major benefactor", and then "a representative of the grain business."

Shamshurin V.A. Return to Nizhny Novgorod. Historical studies. (2009):

Father and son Bugrovs built the famous Bed House for the city. The initiator of its creation, Alexander Petrovich, was not destined to see the doors of this institution open. In May 1883, he passed away. The building was ready by October 10, 1883. The son of the deceased, Nikolai Alexandrovich, solemnly transferred the house to the city property, pledging to maintain it at his own expense in memory of his father. A memorial plaque was installed on the wall: “A.P. Bugrov ".

450 men and 45 women could receive shelter there. At the same time, no documents were asked from them. They were allowed here in the evening and only for the night. During the day, the doors of the shelter were closed to restore order. They were not accepted into the shelter while drunk. You could not take alcohol with you, smoke and sing songs (this could disturb the sleep of others). The order was observed by the warders.
In 1887, the city acquired another large charitable institution. This was the so-called "Widow's House". It was built at their own expense and transferred to the jurisdiction of the city by Nikolai Bugrov and the brothers Aristarkh and Nikolai Blinov.


The building was located on the city land near the Exaltation of the Cross Monastery (now Lyadova Square, 2). On October 23, 1887, the Duma approved the charter of the Widow's House. It itself opened on October 30th. It provided free apartments in one or two rooms for widows with children. The kitchens were shared. There was a bathhouse, a laundry, a pharmacy and an outpatient clinic with a hospital room for two departments: adult and children's. In the hospital there were a doctor, a paramedic and a nurse.
Since 1888, a teacher and a teacher of the law have been working with the children. The staff of the Widows' House also included a caretaker, a warden, a doorman, a bellhop, a bath attendant, two stoker-stokers and five watchmen. Salaries were given to all of them by the city Duma. She also paid for all other expenses. The money for this was allocated in advance by N.A. Bugrov and Blinov.
The Blinovs donated 75 thousand rubles, placing them in the city Nikolaev bank. The interest from this huge capital was deducted for the needs of the Widow's House. In turn, N.A. Bugrov donated his houses to the city at the corner of Alekseevskaya Street and Gruzinsky Lane. The city leased them to the military department, which erected a barracks building there (the so-called "Georgian barracks"). Rental income also went to the maintenance of the Widow's House.


Another manifestation of Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov's civic position was the new building of the City Duma, which he donated to the city. The house of P.E. Bugrov, the founder of the famous merchant dynasty. Then the Bugrovs sold it, and the theater was located there. Then the house was transferred to the Alexander noble bank for the debts. Nikolai Bugrov bought it out and in 1897 presented it to the city, with the condition, however, that it should never allow the construction of a theater or any entertainment establishment in general, and the proceeds went to distribution to the poor.
The house began to be renovated, but in 1898 it burned down. And according to the project of V.P. Zeidler here in 1901-1904. a completely new building was erected.

Moreover, Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov paid over 70% of the construction costs. April 18, 1904 took place Grand opening"Bugrovsky Charitable Corps" (now Minin and Pozharsky Square, 1). It should be noted that the refined decoration of the Imperial Pavilion of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896, donated by the Tsar to Nizhny Novgorod, was used for its interior decoration. Now the City Council, which has moved to a new location, is located in these luxurious apartments. Some of the premises were rented out for shops. The Duma spent the proceeds, as Bugrov had wished, on charitable purposes.

RUKAVISHNIKOV

Mikhail Grigorievich Rukavishnikov was distinguished by the same strong nature that Bugrov had. Continuing the path of his father, who in 1817 opened three shops at the Nizhny Novgorod fair and began to trade in iron, he managed to give the business a real scale. The pipes of his metallurgical plant did not stop smoking over Kunavin. Rukavishnikov was engaged in the manufacture of excellent steel.

In the "Bulletin of the state of factories and plants in the Nizhny Novgorod province for 1843" it was noted: steel "at this plant ... produced up to 50,000 poods. A total of 90,500 rubles. silver ". Steel was sold at the Nizhny Rodskaya fair and in Persia.

The manufactory advisor, the first guild, the merchant Mikhail Grigorievich Rukavishnikov became one of the most influential persons in the city. The only one of the Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneurs, he subscribes to the magazine "Manu invoices and trade" and the newspaper "Manufacturing and Gornozavodskie Izvestia", adopting the best experience. The matter for him was first of all, he could not endure slackness and laziness, he kept himself in control, and by the end of his life he was nicknamed "the iron old man."

Every year, Rukavishnikov's wealth increased, and he donated a significant portion of it to charity. A large amount was allocated to them at the Mariinsky Women's Gymnasium, where he was a member of the Board of Trustees. Together with local historian Gatsisky, composer Balakirev, artist and photographer Karelin, entering the "Brotherhood of Cyril and Methodius", Rukavishnikov helped children from needy families. And the brotherhood itself was created precisely in order to take on the costs of supporting the poor students of the gymnasium, to supply them with clothes and books, to contribute money for education.


“I donate and guard” - these words could become the motto of the entire Rukavishnikov family. The descendants continued the charitable activities of the “iron old man”. One of his sons, Ivan Mikhailovich, together with his brothers and sisters, built in Nizhny the famous House of industriousness on Varvarka (now this is the old building of Nizhpoligraf), donated a thousand rubles annually in favor of poor Nizhny Novgorod brides, did not refuse to help the zemstvo, took care of Kulibinsk vocational school.

Another of the sons, Vladimir Mikhailovich, was famous for maintaining a boys' chapel at his own expense, some of its pupils became soloists of the capital's opera houses. The life of Mitrofan Mikhailovich, an honorary member of the Red Cross Society, was decorated with good deeds, having built his gymnasium hostel in Gruzinsky Lane and a surgical hospital (now it is one of the buildings of the gerontological center).

So it turns out that the Rukavishnikovs were affectionate about all Nizhny Novgorod residents, leaving visible material evidence of their affection and love for the city. But their most magnificent gift is the unique palace on the Slope, which belonged to Sergei Mikhailovich and was built by him in the spring of 1877. There is in the beauty, splendor and harmony of this building the very spirituality that we find in the creations of the best architects, whose aspirations are not everyday life, but eternity. The son of the owner of the luxurious palace, the writer Ivan Sergeevich Rukavishnikov, caught it well and conveyed it in his heartfelt prose.

“Early in the spring, the forests that covered the palace were piled down. And a mighty, heavy-weight-slender he appeared to the spring-flooded Volga River ... They built it so that for many, many years there would be no house equal to that in the city. No one has enough audacity or capital ... Everything in that palace is without deceit. Wherever you see marble, that marble is real and a inch thick, not as they are now sawing in a foreign manner, like cardboard sheets. The eye sees the stone column, believe me, do not try it with your hand - it will not ring, not empty. And believe in the capital of the column: bronze, not gilded cardboard. And in the bronze of that copper and tin as in the old lists said. And if in a hundred years there will be a war in that city, and a cast-iron cannonball hits that slender arch, and knocks the kernel off the grinning face of an old satyr, no one’s eye will see any rotten beams or rusty crutches in that place. And he will see the correct circular masonry, and earlier the moderately calcined brick will be crumbled, than the layer of correct cement will pass ... ”.


Ivan Sergeevich wrote about the strength of a skillful creation, at the same time revealing the flaws of the closed merchant life, from which he renounced and with which he broke, throwing, like a glove, a reproach to his past in the novel "The Cursed Family". God will judge him. But this act, generated by denial, cannot not be connected with another, prompted by a high spirit of the soul and, of course, corresponding to the family tradition of doing good. Together with his brother Mitrofan Sergeevich, Ivan Sergeevich, after the crushing seventeenth year, began to create in the family mansion folk museum... More than seventy works of art, mostly paintings, donated to the city of the Rukavishnikovs even before the revolution, not sparing their collections. These works became the basis of the museum.

It seemed that Russia was dying in the fire of the civil war, churches were crumbling, libraries were burning - and nothing could be saved. But still, there were people who knew: to preserve spiritual wealth means to preserve the homeland. And among these selfless people turned out to be some of the most active descendants of the old merchant family that had emerged from the Balakhna lower ranks. By the way, it will be said that the son of Mitrofan Sergeevich Iulian and grandson Alexander are famous sculptors, in 1987 a monument to the glorious Russian pilot Pyotr Nikolaevich Nesterov was erected in our city by the father and son of the Rukavishnikovs.

BASHKIROV Emelyan Grigorievich, Yakov Emelyanovich, Matvey Emelyanovich,
Nikolay Emelyanovich

It was customary for every good Nizhny Novgorod merchant to conduct any successful deal not only to celebrate in a tavern, but also to light a candle in a church and serve it to the poor. Entrepreneurs invested a lot in the construction of temples.

There were certain days in Nizhny Novgorod when assistance to the poor was obligatory. This, for example, was the day when the fair was closed. Having taken part in the procession and prayer service, the merchants, as usual, returned to their shops, having prepared generous alms. Nizhny Novgorod newspapers printed the names of those who donated to orphanages, helped fire victims, poor families. And lists of donors appeared constantly. But if someone was stingy, the rumor did not spare him.

The rich steamer and miller, the founder of the trading house "Emelyan Bashkirov with Sons" was incredibly stingy and became an anecdotal personality. They say that Emelyan Grigorievich once returned from his mill to the upper part of the city. A cabman was driving along the ramp.

- Sit down, your degree, I'll take you. Inexpensively I will take - a dime.

- Fear God! Eka broke the price. Let's get it for a nickel.

Nearby they move and argue, bargain. Finally, the cabby gives in.

- Well, for your sake, your degree, I agree. Sit down for a nickel - let's go.

- No, brother. Now I won't sit down. Look, in conversation with you, I did not notice how half a mountain passed.

Another case. Bashkirov was awarded the Eagle badge for the high quality of flour. The employees gathered to congratulate Emelyan Grigorievich, hoping for a treat.

- Why did you come? - asks Bashkirov.

- We want to congratulate on the royal grace.

Emelyan Grigorievich wrinkled his brow, reached into his pocket, took out his wallet.

I fumbled in it for a long time. Finally, he pulled out a two-kopeck piece and filed it.

- Here you go. Yes, look, do not drink.

Adrianov Yu.A., Shamshurin V.A. Old Nizhny: Historical and Literary Essays. (1994)

After the death of the elder Bashkirov in 1891, all his millions of capitals went to his sons. The sons were worthy successor mi. The names of Yakov and Matvey Bashkirovs were pronounced with respect by the residents of Nizhny Novgorod. Their fame spread throughout Russia. Bashkir flour was considered the best, it was asked in all parts of the province, it became famous abroad. For days on end, grain carts stretched from the Nizhny Novgorod berths to the mills. The mill alone grinds over 12,000 poods of grain every day. The enterprise of Matvey Emelyanovich was located near the Romodanovsky station, Yakov Emelyanovich - in Kunavin.

The Bashkirovs knew a lot about their work. No wonder Yakov Yemelyanovich declared that his family came from the barge haulers. And yet Yakov Yemelyanovich boasted that the cunning character of Gorky's novel "Foma Gordeev" Mayakin was exactly like himself:

- Mayakin? It's me! It has been written off from me, so look how smart I am.

Yakov Yemelyanovich behaved independently, proudly, did not grovel before the dignitaries, but was withdrawn and overly arrogant. And yet, despite human weaknesses, the Bashkirovs were strong, real masters. The mills they built are still standing in Nizhny Novgorod. And what other benefits they bring!


Honest business was never done for the sake of profit alone. Intelligence, quickness, risk - and even with boldness, and even with enthusiasm - were approved on the Volga. There was only no praise for the one who dodged too much, cheated, stole. It is known that the father of Fyodor Blinov, also like the Bashkirovs, a millionaire miller, gave his son, who was imprisoned for salt fraud, a pair of cast-iron pood galoshes. He had to wear them for half an hour on each anniversary of the court. Like, do not drop the merchant's honor, do not lose your dignity.

Volga entrepreneurs liked to compete most of all in new introductions. Thus, the notorious Alexander Alfonsovich Zeveke was the first to build an American-type steamer with a shallow draft in Nizhny Novgorod. His ship "Amazonka" appeared on the Volga in the navigation of 1882, hitting everyone with its huge wheels astern. And then a whole series of such ships appeared.

Skillful entrepreneur Markel Aleksandrovich Degtyarev was famous on the Volga, the detailed Mikhail Ivanovich Shipov was held in high esteem. The Volga residents knew well the plant of Ustin Savvich Kurbatov, where the ships were assembled, and his company, which operated tug-passenger steamers with a distinctive sign - a white stripe on the pipes.

MOROZOV Savva Timofeevich

It is impossible to separate from the Nizhny Novgorod merchants such a brilliant figure as Savva Timofeevich Morozov, who headed the fair committee for several years and, on behalf of the commercial and industrial class of Russia, presented bread and salt to the emperor in 1896. The business impact of the European educated, intelligent and energetic chairman of the committee has been enormous.

One typical case has sunk into the memory of the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod. Finance Minister Witte denied the fair committee a motion to extend the terms of the state bank's loans. The only entrepreneur who was not embarrassed by the refusal was the chairman of the committee himself. In the statement of M. Gorky, who was present at the meeting of the committee, Morozov's speech boiled down to the following:

- We care a lot about bread, but little about iron, and now the state must be built on iron beams ... Our straw kingdom is not survivable ... When officials talk about the state of the factory business, about the situation of workers, you all know what it is - "Position in the coffin ..."

He suggested sending a harsh telegram to the minister. The next day the answer was received: Witte agreed with the arguments of the committee and granted the petition.

Having gained a reputation as a businessman, Savva Timofeevich entered another world - the world of art. He loved theater, painting, read whole chapters from Eugene Onegin by heart, admiring the genius of Pushkin, knew the work of Balmont and Bryusov well. Morozov was haunted by the idea of ​​Europeanization of Russia, which, in his opinion, could be realized only through a revolution. At the same time, he never doubted the talent of his people, financially supported bright talents. The example of the patronage of such major authorities in the business world as Savva Timofeevich Morozov and Savva Ivanovich Mamontov, who created all the conditions for the flourishing of Fedor Ivanovich Chaliapin's talent, attracted many of the younger generation of entrepreneurs. This responded not only to new trends, but also to the age-old folk wisdom about the superiority of spiritual wealth over material wealth: "The soul is the measure of everything."

SIROTKIN Dmitry Vasilievich

In the context of a rethinking of traditions, at a turning point in the rapid development of capitalism, it was not easy to form such a large-scale and popular figure of the new formation among Nizhny Novgorod residents, which we now see as a millionaire Dmitry Vasilyevich Sirotkin. This personality was original, and the whimsical fate of Sirotkin developed in a peculiar way.

... The Great Patriotic War was approaching the end. The battles were already fought outside the borders of our Motherland. In the fall of 1944, the troops of Marshal Tolbukhin reached the Danube, intending to liberate Belgrade. But first it was necessary to cross the Danube. The wide river was depressing with its desolation - nowhere was there a boat. And the crossing was required urgently. The regimental commanders puzzled over this task.

In the early morning, the sentries made out a boat through the foggy veil on the river. She glided noiselessly to the shore, overgrown with dense bushes. Fearing to break the silence, the soldiers called out to the boatman only at the moment when he left the boat and began to make his way through the thicket. He was a sturdy, stout old man with a wide, clean forehead and a short white beard. He looked imposing, his gestures were decisive and imperious.

“Take me to the commander,” he said in Russian and looked with such a firm, confident look that the seasoned soldiers did not dare to disobey.

He was brought to the command post. Without wasting time, he suggested to the general:

“I know you need a crossing. I have my own flotilla on the Danube: boats, tugs, barges. All this is not far from here, in a secluded place. You can use it.

- Who are you? - the general was amazed, unable to believe the unexpected help.

- Local entrepreneur. And in the past - the last mayor of Nizhny Novgorod Dmitry Sirotkin.

Such is amazing story... And the story was told by soldiers returning from the front. Sounds like a legend. But legends are never born out of nowhere.

And therefore there is a reason to turn to the memoirs of one of the Volga residents - Ivan Aleksandrovich Shubin, who met with Sirotkin at the beginning of the century.

“I saw Sirotkin without knowing him at all. At his invitation, I came to the office ... He was of average height, much shorter than me. Attracted attention inner strength... He was in impetuous restraint, and if he lost his temper, then with some impetuosity he would allow himself a few harsh words and only quickly recover himself again. There was not so much severity in him as efficiency. His eyes were gray, lively. Hands are confident, small, light, fast gait. He was very fond of music, attended concerts. I arranged many concerts myself and did a lot for the public, which could pay. At the Lower Bazaar, he organized literary and musical meetings for the poor. The repertoire was chosen by himself, the artistic one was the artist Yakovleva, and the dramatic one was Volkov and Kapralov. They gathered every holiday, and I personally had to visit, they always listened with great attention and interest. They read our classics, poems, and the music was mainly Russian composers ... "

Probably, it is already possible to form a general idea of ​​the personality, whose spiritual interests are quite consistent with the act performed by Sirotkin at the end of his life.

He came from an Old Believer family. His father Vasily Ivanovich was a peasant in the village of Ostapovo in the Purekhovskaya volost of the Balakhninsky district - this is next to the former patrimony of the unforgettable prince Pozharsky.

Vasily Ivanovich traded in wood chips, transported it down the Volga to Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan on ordered bindings, and sold it in bulk. Business went briskly. In a few years, a resourceful peasant became rich and became the owner of the tug "Volia". After graduating from elementary school at Volya, the junior Orphanage worked from a young age as a cook, sailor, water-carrier, and helmsman. The time comes when Dmitry Vasilyevich himself takes the helm of his steamer, also called "Will". This ship was already more powerful than his father's, with an iron hull and a steam engine designed by the mechanic Kalashnikov, famous throughout the Volga. It must be said that the design of the Volya machine was soon awarded a prize at the All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod. The ambitious Sirotkin achieved his first great success - his ship was recognized as one of the best on the river.

Perseverance, intense self-education, passion for engineering design, a desire to improve every business - all this made Sirotkin stand out among entrepreneurs. Taking on the transportation of oil along the Volga, he created his own type of ships: according to Sirotkin's drawings, the oil-loading metal barge "Marfa Posadnitsa" was built in 1907. The Nobel partnership, competing with Sirotkin's firm, urgently set about building ships of this type.

Sirotkin was recognized as the leader among shipowners. He was elected chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Imperial Shipping Society, head of the coordination committee of all Volga region exchanges, chairman of the permanent council of congresses of shipowners in the Volga basin.


Knowing how to work with full dedication, he naturally could not stand any laxity, disorder, or dishonesty. Out of spite, someone wrote a biting ditty about him:

Like on the Volga, on the river

Mithrius has everything in his hand.

With his left hand he will lure

The right one pulls a lot of veins.

Was it really so? The same Shubin recalls Sirotkin: “He knew how to select people and work with them. But, without interfering with work, Sirotkin, unlike Bugrov, did not rely on personal charity, but attracted the public, arranged city trusteeships for the poor ... He called people not by “you”, but by “you”. He had libraries on the barges ... Sirotkin organized insurance for workers against sad cases, and many of the merchants reacted negatively to this. In addition, he did the following thing: he appointed a representative of the workers to the council of merchants' congresses. "

In the spring of 1910, the Volga Commercial, Industrial and Shipping Company was created in Nizhny Novgorod. The managing director was the merchant of the 1st guild of commerce, advisor Sirotkin, in whose hands enormous funds were concentrated at that time. The share capital of Volga was increased to 10 million rubles. And the ships of the society appeared on the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei and Danube. An active entrepreneur is building a large shipbuilding plant near the village of Bor. This plant is still operating under the name "Teplokhod".

1913 year. Nizhny Novgorod residents held elections for a new mayor. Of several candidates, Sirotkin was preferred.

“I promise to serve the city not for honor, but for conscience,” said Dmitry Vasilyevich when taking office. He asked to transfer his salary to the city budget. And he shared his plans: to build a permanent bridge across the Oka, to improve the outskirts, to start work on electrification.

But these plans were not destined to come true. A long war with Germany began. And it was not at all peaceful concerns that burdened the mayor. However, he can be credited with the fact that under him the concession tram was bought out by the administration, the Peasant Land Bank was built, and the transition to universal primary education was carried out.


There are many good deeds on the account of Sirotkin, a personality, undoubtedly, exceptional. But Sirotkin was dissatisfied with the bureaucracy, which he prevented from doing arbitrariness in the distribution of military orders, observing the interests of entrepreneurs.

The head of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial gendarme administration, Colonel Mazurin, reported on October 9, 1915 to the director of the police department that the mayor Sirotkin "was known only as a good and clever businessman, who did not forget his personal" I "and made up a pretty solid fortune out of nothing." Already from this phrase it is clear that the gendarme, to put it mildly, is cheating.

Dmitry Vasilievich acknowledged the beneficence February revolution, began to wear a red bow on his coat and headed the city executive committee of the Provisional Government. Like many active people, it seemed to him that Russia, having freed itself from the fetters of autocracy, would move even faster along the path of progress. However, optimism soon gave way to anxiety. The time has come for turmoil and chaos. And, no longer hoping for the best, foreseeing inevitable cataclysms, Sirotkin decides to go abroad, since he had his own steamers on the Danube.

He left Nizhny, leaving a good memory of himself. His beautiful mansion on the Volga Slope, created by the talented architects Vesnin brothers in 1916, now houses an art museum. In addition, the city owes Sirotkin unique collections of porcelain, shawls and scarves, Russian folk costumes, and gold embroidery. In emigration, he had to learn that the works of art left by him in his homeland are carefully preserved, becoming the property of Nizhny Novgorod residents, and this made him happy. He lived a long life, passing away in the early fifties. They say that after the war he wanted to return to Russia, but did not receive permission.

It is difficult to imagine what a seedy city Nizhny would look like, no matter how meager its history was for events, if the merchants did not participate in its formation. Yes, except about one Lower speech!

One cannot but agree with the deep thought of Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin that "in the half-century preceding the revolution, the Russian merchants played a leading role in the everyday life of the whole country." And Shalyapin should not know this when his talent reached unprecedented greatness thanks to merchants' patronage. Reflecting on a domestic merchant who started a business by peddling with a simple home-made comrade, Fyodor Ivanovich says about him: “... He eats offal in a cheap tavern, drinks tea with black bread bit by bit. Freezes, grows cold, but always cheerful, does not grumble and hopes for the future. He is not embarrassed by what kind of commodity he has to trade, trading different. Today with icons, tomorrow with stockings, the day after tomorrow with amber, or even with little books. Thus, he is made an "economist". And there, lo and behold, he already has a shop or a small factory. And then, come on, he is already a 1st guild merchant. Wait - his eldest son is the first to buy Gauguin, the first to buy a Picasso, the first to take Matisse to Moscow. And we, the enlightened ones, look with nasty open mouths at all the Matisses, Manet and Renoirs that we have not yet understood, and say nasally and critically: “Tyrant ...” Meanwhile, tyrants have quietly accumulated wonderful treasures of art, created galleries, museums, first-class theaters, set up hospitals and orphanages ... "And here's another thing the merchants credited with the world-famous singer: they" conquered poverty and obscurity, the riotous discord of bureaucratic uniforms and the inflated arrogance of cheap, lisping and lurting aristocracy. "

Whatever obstacles arose, the Nizhny Novgorod merchants remembered the old Testament commandment - to please the fatherland - and believed that the cost of good deeds in the end would pay off a hundredfold. And it was not mistaken: the good names of respectable entrepreneurs have been resurrected in the memory and they are pronounced along with the names of well-known public figures and scientists, architects and artists.

The formation of the system of merchant guilds was accompanied by an active public policy in relation to the merchant class. On the one hand, the state sought to raise the legal and economic status of the merchants, giving them new privileges in industrial and commercial activities. On the other hand, it increased tax pressure, periodically increasing the size of the declared capital and introducing new duties. This policy largely had a significant impact on the number of the merchant class, its guild composition and the formation of large merchant dynasties.

In the last decade, a number of dissertation studies have appeared on various aspects of the history of the provincial merchants. Among them are the problems of the formation of the professional activity of the merchants, charity, the mentality of the merchants of county towns, the emergence and development of large merchant dynasties, the folding of guild capitals. Questions are raised about the social sources of the merchant class. An important issue is the organization of economic ties between provincial and capital cities, the role of the merchant class in this process. The most controversial point in Russian historiography is the question of the influence of state policy on the formation and development of the merchant class. Various authors, using the example of individual regions, are trying to trace the process of the formation of local merchants in the conditions of the contradictory economic and estate policy of the state at the end of the 18th - first quarter XIX century. The main task of our work is to consider how this process took place in Nizhny Novgorod.

Key words and phrases: merchants, class, guild, dynasty, capital.

Annotation

Nizhny Novgorod merchant class in the end of XVIII - first quarter of XIX century.

Formation of system of merchant guilds, accompanied by active government policy in relation to the merchant class. On the one hand, the government has sought to improve the legal and economic status of merchants, giving him new benefits to industrial and commercial activities. On the other hand, increased the tax pressure, periodically increasing the size of the declared capital and introducing new duties. In turn, this policy, in many ways has a significant impact on the number of merchants, his guild composition and the formation of large merchant dynasties.

In the last decade there was a number of dissertation research on various aspects of the history of the provincial merchant class. Among them, the problem of the formation of the professional activities of the merchants, charity mentality merchants county-level cities, the origin and development of large merchant dynasties, folding guild capital. Raises questions about the social sources of the merchant class. Not less important is the problem of the organization of economic relations between provincial and capital cities, a role in this process, the merchant class. The most controversial point in the national historiography, is the question of the impact of public policy on the formation and development of the merchant class. Modern researchers are trying to take a position with respect to the average. Singling, both positive and negative aspects of the interaction of the merchants and the state by various authors on the example of some regions, trying to trace the process of formation of local merchants in a contradictory economic and social class policy, the end of the first quarter of the XVIII – XIX century. The main objective of our work is to consider how this process took place in Nizhny Novgorod.

Key words and phrases: the merchant class, guild, dynasty, capital.

About publication

The problem of the influence of state policy on the formation of guild merchants is posed in many modern dissertation studies. Their authors, using the example of individual regions, try to trace the process of the formation of local merchants in the context of the contradictory economic and class policy of the state. The main task of our work is to consider how this process took place in Nizhny Novgorod.

In accordance with the Manifesto of March 17, 1775, the entire merchant population was recorded in three guilds according to the size of the declared capital. For the first guild, it was from 10 to 50 thousand rubles, for the second from 1 to 10 thousand, for the third from 500 rubles to 1 thousand. To enroll in a guild, a merchant had to pay one percent of the declared capital. The poll tax, payable per round, was replaced by a contribution to the treasury (1% of the declared capital).

In Nizhny Novgorod in 1780, there were 687 male merchants with a total capital of 383,142 rubles. 62 merchants of the second guild with a capital of 33,500 rubles, and 625 of the third guild with a capital of 349,642 rubles. Of these, 17 certificates were issued for the second guild, and 258 certificates for the third. It is worth noting that the guild composition of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants of this period was not yet represented by members of the first guild, this is largely due to the weak continuity of capital, as well as the absence of stable merchant dynasties (largely influenced by the high size of the declared capital for 1 guild). Among the representatives of the second guild, it is worth highlighting Mikhail Kholezov and Ivan Ponarev with capitals of 5 thousand rubles each.

In terms of their numbers, the Nizhny Novgorod merchants ranked second among the urban estates, significantly inferior to the bourgeois class and exceeding the guild class. For comparison, in Nizhny Novgorod in 1780 lived 1587 bourgeoisie with a total capital of 1904 rubles.

The main source of the formation of the Nizhny Novgorod merchant class, as well as of the All-Russian class in general, was the peasant class. The relatively low property qualification for the third guild gave its representatives the opportunity to enroll in the merchant class.

According to archival data, in 1780-1781. 177 peasants entered the Nizhny Novgorod merchants of the third guild, most of them living in the Blagoveshchensk settlement. Among them are the founders of future merchant dynasties: Ivan Serebryannikov with his son Peter, Ivan Voronov with his son Matvey, Ivan Shchepetelnikov with his brothers Andrei, Boris and Ignatius. It is worth noting that during the same period, only 19 representatives of the bourgeois class fit into the Nizhny Novgorod merchants.

The widespread representation of the peasant element created instability in the third guild. As of 1785, 14 Nizhny Novgorod merchant families - 54 merchants of both sexes (including 26 children and 11 wives), who left the peasants - were declared insolvent (that is, about half of all peasants who signed up in 1780-1781). Among them: Dmitry Demyanov, Peter Gorbatov, Matvey Lobov, Andrey Bashmashnikov, Matvey Chaparin, Peter Egorov and others. In most cases, the peasants who were in the third guild were not directly involved in trading activities. Having enrolled in the merchant class, they, first of all, sought to raise their legal and social status.

By 1783, the guild composition of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants had already changed significantly, there was a tendency for its consolidation. In 1783, 428 merchants from Nizhny Novgorod received guild certificates. Of these, 1 - the first guild, 37 - the second and 390 - the third. Along with the old merchant surnames of the Holezovs and Ponarevs, new ones appeared. It is worth highlighting the merchant of the 1st guild, Andrei Mikhailovich Bespalov, who announced a capital in the amount of 13,500 rubles, the merchants of the second guild, Job Steshov (with a capital of 5,500 rubles), Ivan Nikiforovich Kosarev (with a capital of 5,000 rubles), Nikolai Nikolaevich Izvolsky (with a capital of 3,000 rubles). ... In 1787, Pyotr Tikhonovich Perepletchikov moved from 3 to 2 merchants' guild, announcing the capital of more than 17,000 rubles.

To establish himself in the merchant class, the future merchant had to declare capital corresponding to a certain guild. This procedure is well reflected in the document below: "The announcement of the Nizhny Novgorod merchant of the 2nd guild, Ivan Nikiforovich Kosarev, about his capital on December 1, 1783".

To the Nizhny Novgorod city magistrate from the Nizhny Novgorod merchant Ivan Nikiforovich Kosarev.

Announcement

In pursuance of the all-merciful Her Imperial Majesty of March 17, 1775 from the Governing Senate of 1776 on the separation of the merchants and the bourgeoisie of decrees, through this announcement that I have my own capital of five thousand rubles, in my family my own son, Ivan living with me and grandchildren Ivan, Peter, Dmitry. I signed this Kosarev. December 1, 1783 .

As can be seen from the contents of the document, all his direct relatives could be recorded in one certificate with the head of the family.

In 1785, Russia adopted the "Certificate of Merit for the Rights and Benefits of the Cities of the Russian Empire." She significantly increased the declared capital for the 2nd and 3rd guilds. The minimum declared capital for guild 2 increased from 1000 to 5000 rubles, for 3 from 500 to 1000 rubles. Many merchants were unable to redeem merchant certificates, which had risen sharply in price. This was especially true for merchants of the most unstable 3rd guild.

The results of legislative policy had a significant impact on changes in the guild composition of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants and their numbers.

In particular, in the period from 1783 to 1797, the dynamics of the issuance of guild certificates significantly decreased. This is reflected in the following table.

Table 1. Dynamics of issuance of guild certificates in Nizhny Novgorod in 1783-1797.

From the above table, it follows that the total number of issued guild certificates in the period 1783-1797 decreased by more than half, for the 1st and 3rd guilds more than two times, and for the second five times.

As a result of a sharp decline in the dynamics of issuing guild certificates, the total number of the merchant class and its capital significantly decreased. As can be seen in the example below the presented table.

Table 2. The number and guild composition of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants (male, including the total amount of capital) in the period 1780-1797

The example of this table shows that the total number of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants (male) has significantly decreased: in the period from 1780-1797, it decreased by more than a quarter (200 people). Its guild composition also changed significantly. The number of guilds 2 and 3 has been reduced by almost a third. By 1797, only representatives of large merchant families retained their membership in the second guild. Among them are Nikolai Ivanovich Izvolsky, Job Andreevich Steshov, Ivan Ivanovich Kosarev (son of Ivan Nikiforovich Kosarev, merchant of the 2nd guild). The merchant families of the Holezovs and Ponarevs ceased to exist. Others have moved from 2 to 3 guilds. In particular, Alexander Dmitrievich Borodin, according to data for 1781, was listed as a merchant of the 2nd guild with a capital of 3,510 rubles, and since 1798, he was also a merchant of the 3rd guild, while lowering his capital to 2,500 rubles. The number in 1 guild also did not increase. The only representative of the first guild merchants, Andrei Mikhailovich Bespalov, after 1785, together with his family, moved from 1 to 2 guild.

Thus, it can be stated that the guild composition of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants in the period 1775-1800 thinned significantly. As before, the number of merchants of the most unstable 3 guilds, who were not able to redeem the sharply increased prices of merchant certificates after the city reform of 1785, continued to decrease. The decrease in the number of 1 and 2 guilds can also be explained by this reason. Due to the sharply increased property qualification, even very wealthy merchants (Steshovs, Izvolsky, etc.) could not increase their membership in the guild, while significantly increasing their capital. The trend towards a decrease in the number of guild merchants, which manifested itself at the end of the 18th century. in Nizhny Novgorod, did not have an all-Russian character, since in the country as a whole, the number of merchants in the period between the IV and V revisions increased from 89.1 to 120.4 thousand souls rm, i.e. by a third (largely due to the Moscow and St. Petersburg merchants). This primarily testifies to the weak stability of the capital of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants (as well as the provincial merchants in general), many of whom were left outside the merchant class by the next increase in guild fees. This process was generally typical for the entire provincial merchants of Russia.

The decline in the number of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants, in turn, dramatically affected the decrease in their capital. In the period 1780-1797, the total merchant capital decreased by 150,000 rubles on average. At the same time, its main reduction took place in the 3rd guild, by more than 100,000 rubles (this is largely due to its instability). The merchants of the 2nd guild slightly increased their capital (by 17,000 rubles), which, first of all, was due to a sharp increase in its minimum size (for the 2nd guild, it increased from 1,000 to 5,000 rubles). In particular, I.I. Kosarev, I.A. Steshov, N.N. Izvolsky, on average increased their capital in the period 1780-1797 from 4500 rubles to 8100 rubles.

In the first quarter of the XIX century. the process of the formation of the system of merchant guilds as a whole depended on the financial and economic conjuncture both in the domestic and foreign markets.

As a result of socio-economic processes, the composition of the merchant class changed, and the process of replacement of merchant dynasties took place. The decline of the old merchant class was noticeably felt in many Russian cities, and Nizhny Novgorod was no exception.

For the Nizhny Novgorod merchants, as well as for the merchants of other regions of the country, in general, the process of changing merchant generations of the late 18th - first quarter of the 19th century was characteristic.

To replace the old merchant dynasties of the Kholezovs, Ponarevs, Bespalovs, Steshovs, Kosarevs (the latter, according to data for 1804, moved from 2 to 3 guilds: Job Andreevich Steshov, Peter Ivanovich and Dmitry Kosarevs - the sons of Ivan Ivanovich Kosarev - reduced their capital from 8000 to 2500 thousand rubles) new dynasties come - as a rule, people from the peasant environment: the Pyatovs, Perepletchikovs, etc.

According to the book "On the declaration of merchant capital" for 1806, representatives of the future large merchant dynasties are enrolled in the Nizhny Novgorod merchant class: these are merchants of the 2nd guild Semyon Ivanovich Loshkarev, Ivan Ivanovich Plashov (with a capital of 8,000 rubles). They are no longer found even among the merchants of the 3rd guild of the surnames Ponarevs, Bespalovs, Kholekhovs. Along with new merchant dynasties, a number of old dynasties continue to maintain membership in the 2nd guild. Among the merchants of the first generation, it is worth highlighting Ivan Alexandrovich Kostromin, Ivan Nikolaevich Izvolsky, Alexander Dmitrievich Borodin. According to the merchant book of 1818, the composition of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants has already changed significantly. The composition of the 1st guild significantly expanded: it was replenished with new merchant surnames - Ivan Stepanovich Pyatov and his brother Semyon Stepanovich Pyatov with a capital of 50 thousand rubles each (the family originates from Dmitry Pyatov, a merchant of the 3rd guild, then their father Stepan Dmitrievich Pyatov in the 1780s . already a merchant of the 2nd guild). Fyodor Petrovich Shchukin, Mikhail Sergeevich Klimov and Afanasy Petrovich Gubin with capitals of 20 thousand rubles each become members of the 2nd guild. However, already in 1822, significant changes took place in the guild composition of the large Nizhny Novgorod merchants. Semyon Ivanovich Loshkarev and Afanasy Petrovich Gubin move from 2 to 3 guilds, having reduced their capital from 20 to 8 thousand rubles. The merchant families of the Klimovs and Shchukins cease to exist, and they are replaced by new Nizhny Novgorod merchants of the 2nd guild: Pyotr Mikhailovich Yesyrev, Evgraf Ivanovich Chernyshev, Frans Ivanovich Dittel.

Thus, the above data confirm not only the change of merchant generations in the first quarter of the 19th century, but also the instability of merchant families, their weak capital stability and economic insolvency. However, during this period we can already talk about the formation of the main merchant dynasties. Thus, the dynasties of Izvolsky, Pyatovs, Gubins and Perepletchikovs, which emerged at the end of the 18th century, were able to maintain relative stability until the second half of the 19th century.

In the first quarter of the XIX century. the dynamics of the number of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants began to be positive. but given growth in general, was due to the improvement of the demographic situation in the Nizhny Novgorod region, the growth of the urban population. At the same time, at the beginning of the 19th century, among the Nizhny Novgorod merchants (as well as the all-Russian in general), there is a process of consolidation of the merchant class, an increase in its capital, which was a consequence of state policy (an increase in the size of merchant capital). However, the relatively favorable time period for the development of the merchants from 1800 to 1807 gave way to a period of decline of the guild merchants, which lasted until the guild reform of 1824. A sharp decline in the issuance of guild certificates and, as a result, a decrease in the number of the merchant class was characteristic of most provinces of European Russia. In the country as a whole, the number of merchants from 1811 to 1824 decreased from 124.8 thousand souls m. up to 52.8 thousand (2.4 times).

The crisis of the guild merchants in 1807-1824. was caused primarily by a sharp increase in the property qualification for registration in the merchant class in 1807, in connection with which the minimum capital required to be included in the merchant class in the first guild increased from 16 to 50 thousand rubles. (3.1 times), for the second guild - from 8 to 20 thousand rubles. (2.5 times), for the third guild - from 2 to 8 thousand rubles.

This process, first of all, affected the dynamics of the issuance of guild certificates. Compared to the end of the 18th century, the issuance of merchant certificates, especially for the 3rd guild, has significantly decreased.

How the general dynamics of issuing guild certificates has changed can be seen on the example of the following table.

Table 3. Dynamics of issuance of guild certificates in Nizhny Novgorod in 1797–1822.

From this table it follows that the number of issued guild certificates in the period 1797-1822 decreased by almost half, especially for 3 guilds (twice). At the same time, 2 guilds each increased significantly, on average by 7 certificates.

The development of the Russian economy and commodity-money relations at the beginning of the 19th century contributed to an increase in merchant capital. In the period from 1797 to 1822, the total merchant capital in the city of Nizhny Novgorod increased almost fourfold from 285,915 rubles to 966,000 rubles.

The process of increasing the capital of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants can be traced on the example of this table.

Table 4. The size of merchant capital in the city of Nizhny Novgorod in the period 1797-1822.

From the above data, it follows that the total merchant capital in the period 1797-1822 increased almost three times, while the most significant increase is noticeable for 2 guilds on average four times. The capital of the representatives of the 1st guild has significantly increased (by an average of 100,000 rubles). This, first of all, confirms the process of consolidation of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants.

The scope of application of merchant capital has also significantly expanded. Nizhny Novgorod merchants began to actively invest in various industries. Pyatovs into rope production (I.S. Pyatov in 1818 organized in Nizhny Novgorod one of the first dried factories for the production of ropes and ropes), Perepletchikovs into sulfuric vitriol (in 1810 P.T. Elatmy).

How much the number and guild composition of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants changed in the first quarter of the 19th century can be seen on the example of the following table.

Table 5. The number of Nizhny Novgorod merchants in the late 18th - early 19th centuries (male, including comparative data with the bourgeois and guild)

Analyzing this table, it can be noted that the number of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants (male) at the beginning of the 19th century, compared with the end of the 18th century, slightly increased - on average, the growth was more than 100 people. The number of merchants of the 2nd guild (the most stable) has more than doubled, the growth of representatives of the 3rd guild is also noticeable, but by 1816 their number is noticeably decreasing, in particular, due to another increase in the property qualification in 1807 for registration in the merchant guild. The first guild, as before, continues to be extremely unstable. Among the urban estates, the merchants continue to occupy an average position, significantly inferior to the petty bourgeoisie (almost four times) and almost three times surpassing the guild ones. However, in terms of the volume of their capital and economic viability, the merchants retain their leading position. In particular, according to the data for 1806, the total volume of the merchant's capital was 526,521 rubles, the petty bourgeois capital was only 5195 rubles, and the shop capital was 442 rubles.

In general, the increase in the number of Nizhny Novgorod merchants in the first quarter of the 19th century depended on the growth of the urban population of Nizhny Novgorod. If in 1795 the total number of the urban estate (merchants, bourgeois, guild) was 1826, then by 1806 it increased to 2906 people. The general dynamics of the growth of the composition of merchant families also actively influenced. When all his direct relatives were included in the testimony of the head of the family. As in Russia as a whole, this process took place in Nizhny Novgorod. This is confirmed by the analysis of merchant books on the declaration of capital. At the beginning of the 19th century, an average of 6–8 people were included in one merchant certificate, while at the end of the 18th century there were only 3–5 representatives of a merchant family.

Thus, summing up, the following conclusions can be drawn.

At the end of the 18th - first quarter of the 19th century. under the influence of state policy and the current economic and demographic situation among the Nizhny Novgorod merchants, the process of the formation of merchant guilds took place, accompanied by the enlargement and expansion of the guild composition of the merchant class, an increase in the volume of its capital (with a general decrease in its number at the end of the 18th century, a slight increase at the beginning of the 19th century). c. and thereafter). By the first quarter of the XIX century. In Nizhny Novgorod, despite significant instability in the succession of merchant capital and tax pressure, the main merchant dynasties of the pre-reform period were formed, which existed until the second half of the 19th century.

References / References

In Russian

1. Certificate of Merit for the Rights and Benefits of the Cities of the Russian Empire // Russian Legislation X–XX centuries / ed. O.I. Chistyakov. M .: Legal literature, 1987. V.5. 431 s.
2. Manifesto of Catherine II the Great of March 17, 1775 // Legislation of the heyday of absolutism / ed. E.I. Indovoy. M., 1987. T. 2. 476 p.
3. Makarov I.A. Pocket of Russia. N. Novgorod, 2006.442 p.
4. Acceleration of V.N. Siberian merchants in XVIII–the first half of the 19th century The regional aspect of traditional entrepreneurship. Barnaul, 1999. 55 s.
5. TsANO (Central Archives of the Nizhny Novgorod Region). F. 116. Op. 33. Case 76. General audit of Nizhny Novgorod merchants for 1780–1781 year. 35 l.
6. TSANO. F. 116. Op. 33. D. 8. Statement of the number of merchants and burghers in the city of Nizhny Novgorod for 1780. 57 l.
7. TSANO. F. 116. Op. 33. D. 42. Bulletin of the number of merchants and bourgeoisie who left the peasants, for 1780–1781 years. 25 l.
8. TSANO. F. 116. Op. 33. D. 596. Book of announcements of merchants and townspeople about their capital for 1783. 125 l.
9. TSANO. F. 116. Op. 33. D. 684. Bulletin of the merchants of Nizhny Novgorod for 1783. 43 l.
10. TSANO. F. 116. Op 33. D. 2767. A statement about the capital, factories and plants owned by merchants and about the issuance of certificates to them for the production of trade for 1798. 123 l.
11. TSANO. F. 116. Op. 34. D. 3282. Statement of merchants and protested bills for 1807. 76 l.
12. TSANO. F. 116. Op. 34. D. 3281. Statement of the number of merchants and bourgeoisie, asking to be a merchant, for 1806. 34 l.
13. TSANO. F. 116. Op. 34. D. 3780. Book of records of merchants about their capitals and correspondence about the reasons for not showing fully merchant capitals for 1817–1818 –143 l.
14. TSANO. F. 116. Op. 34. D. 3984. Book of records of merchants' announcements about their capital for 1822. 128 l.
15. TSANO. Form 116. Op. 33. D. 3707. Correspondence about the capital of merchants and bourgeoisie, about the guild rights of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants, with the attachment of a list of merchants for 1816. 97 l.
16. TSANO. Form 116. Op. 34. D. 2419. A statement about the number of merchants, burghers and guilds in Nizhny Novgorod, Gorbatov and Semyonov and about taxes from them, for 1795. 62 l.

English

1. Zhalovannaya gramota na prava i vygody gorodam Rossiyskoy imperii. Rossiyskoe zakonodatelstvo X–XX vekov / pod red. O.I. Chistyakova. Moscow: Publ. Yuridicheskaya literatura, 1987. Vol. 5.431 p.
2. Manifest Yekateriny II Velikoy ot 17 marta 1775 goda. Zakonodatelstvo perioda rastsveta absolyutizma / pod red. Ye.I. Indovoy. Moscow, 1987. Vol. 2.476 p.
3. Makarov I.A. Karman Rossii. N. Novgorod, 2006.442 p.
4. Razgon V.N. Sibirskoe kupechestvo v XVVIII - pervoy polovine XIX v. Regionalnyy aspekt predprinimatelstva traditsionnogo tipa. Barnaul, 1999.225 p.
5. F. 116. Aboutp. 33. D. 76. Generalnaya reviziya nizhegorodskikh kuptsov za 1780–1781. 35 l.
6. CANO .F. 116.O33. D .. 8. Vedomost o kolichestve kuptsov i meshchan v g. Nizhnem Novgorode za 1780.57 l.
7. F. 116.Op. 3. D. 42. Vedomost o kolichestve kuptsov i meshchan, vyshedshikh iz krestyan za 1780–1781 25 l.
8. F. 116. Aboutp. 33. D. 596. Kniga obyavleniy kuptsov i meshchan ob ikh kapitalakh za 1783.125 l.
9. F. 116. Aboutp. 33. D. 684. Vedomost o nizhegorodskikh kuptsakh za 1783.43 l.
10. F. 116. Aboutp. 33. D. 2767. Vedomost ob imeyushchikhsya u kuptsov kapitalakh, fabrikakh i zavodakh, i o vydache im attestatov dlya proizvodstva torgovl iza 1798.123 l.
11. F. 116. Aboutp. 34. D. 3282. Vedomost 'o torguyushhikh kuptsakh i o oprotestovannykh vekselyakh za 1807.76l.
12. F. 116. Aboutp. 34. D. 3281. Vedomost 'o chisle kuptsov i meshhan, prosyashhikhsya v kupechestvo za 1806.34l.
13. CANO.F. 116. Aboutp. 34.D. 3280. Kniga zapisi kuptsov ob ikh kapitalakh, i perepiska o prichinakh nepokazaniya polnost'yu kupecheskikh kapitalov na 1817-1818. 143l.
14. CANO.F. 116. Aboutp. 34.D. 3984.Kniga zapisi obyavlenij kuptsov ob ikh kapitalakh na 1822.128 l.
15. F. 116. Aboutp. 34. D. 3707. Perepiska o kapitalakh kuptsov i meshhan, o gil'dejskikh pravakh nizhegorodskogo kupechestva, s prilozheniem spiska kuptsov na 1816.97l.
16. F. 116. Aboutp. 34 D. 2419. Vedomost'o kolichestve kuptsov, meshhan i tsekhovykh g. Nizhnego Novgoroda, Gorbatova i Semenova i o nalogakh s nikh, za 1795.62 l.

Introduction

1.Special estate - merchants

2.History of the merchants

3.How did you make millions?

4.After the labors of the righteous (rest and entertainment)

5.For the good of the Fatherland

6 merchants, merchants, merchants of Russia

7 color and strength - generous patrons Nizhny Novgorod merchants

Conclusion

Introduction

Relevance

The history of Nizhny Novgorod is the history of successful merchants and generous patrons of the arts.

The merchants of Nizhny Novgorod gained real fame as generous benefactors. They helped their fellow countrymen, they helped the poor. It was justly believed that if God gave wealth, then he would always ask for an account of it. So they built churches, they built theaters, they helped the poor and needy.

Research problem

Imagine Russian society v XIX-XX centuries it is simply unthinkable without charity. Alms, mercy were one of the foundations of Russian life. To deceive was not considered a sin, to cheat in a trade deal was not considered a sin, but it was a sin not to give to a beggar or a stranger. This Russian trait was noted by many.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the "merchant period" of the development of charity began, which was characterized by an ever-increasing expansion of both private and public initiative. In Russia, there was an extensive network of charitable societies and institutions for the care of the poor. In the past, every county, every city knew its "deeply respected" in hospitals, schools, orphanages and almshouses built at its expense. Then they were glorified for the theater, gallery, library or museum. Both these merits have left a mark on the memory of the Russian people: the first - of the common people, the second - of art lovers. Patronage activities were very common among merchants.

It is difficult to imagine what a seedy city Nizhny would look like, no matter how meager its history was for events, if the merchants did not participate in its formation. In this regard, the relevance of the chosen topic is beyond doubt.

Review of literature sources

Scientists-historians have written a lot of works about merchants, we will give only an overview of some that we used in this work. So, the works of Yu. Andrianov are devoted to the history and formation of the merchant class in Russia, in particular - in the Nizhny Novgorod region. T.P. Bibanov described and investigated the charitable activities of Nizhny Novgorod merchants. The works of Y. Galai are mainly devoted to the earnings of the merchants, the accumulation of capital of the merchants and their charitable activities. In addition, N. Golubinova, N.F. Filatov, L.G. Chandyrina and others.

Conclusion

In Muscovite Russia, merchants stood out from the general mass of the townspeople, who were divided into guests, hundreds of merchants from the Living Room and the Sukonnaya in Moscow, and "the best people" in the cities, and the guests were the most privileged elite of the merchant class.

In 1724, the principles of the division of merchants into guilds were formulated.

The leading way of accumulating capital for merchants was trade.

Since the 20s. XIX century, the Nizhny Novgorod Fair becomes the most important trade center of Russia. The merchants spent their free time in a merchant meeting or a club, which was built specifically for these purposes (now the House of Children's Art is located here). The club had a wonderful billiard room, where in the corners in large tubs were growing outlandish overseas plants and palms, a good buffet, an amateur theater in which children from merchant families played, and the heads of families themselves and their numerous relatives.

The strongest turned out to be people from Old Believer families, where the upbringing was very harsh. Such immigrants became the backbone of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants.

The founders of the most famous merchant dynasty in the Nizhny Novgorod regions, Peter Egorovich Bugrov, were noticed by Vladimir Ivanovich Dal. At the Nizhny Novgorod fair, under his watch, bridges were built across the ditch. When, during the Crimean War, the Nizhny Novgorodians were collecting militia recruits, Bugrov equipped a wagon train for him at his own expense.

The grandson of Pyotr Yegorovich, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bugrov, managed in a smart way to dispose of the millions of capitals acquired by his grandfather and father, increasing them. With his huge capitals, Nikolai Alexandrovich himself was content with little: his usual food was cabbage soup and porridge with black bread, he dressed in an ordinary merchant's outfit - a sheepskin coat, frock coat, boots, slept on the stove or on the beds. He had dozens of steamers, steam mills, warehouses, piers, hundreds of acres of forest, whole villages. He built a famous shelter for the homeless, a shelter for widows and orphans, and spared no expense in building temples, hospitals and schools. In our minds everything "Bugrovskoe" means reliable, durable, real. The foundations of the Bugrovsky buildings are still strong.

List of used literature

1.Avraamova E.M. History of Nizhny Novgorod. - M. - 2007. No. 1.P. 174.

2. Aleksushin G.V. History as a science. - Samara: Publishing house of the Samara Pedagogical University, 2008. - P. 338.

3.Andrianov, Yu. Merchants // Yu. Andrianov, V. Shamshurin. Old Lower: East-lit. essays. - N. Novgorod, 2011 .-- S. 171-191.

4. Bibanov, T.P. Mercy on the land of Nizhny Novgorod / T.P. Bibanov, M.V. Bronsky // City of Glory and Fidelity to Russia. - N. Novgorod, 2009 .-- S. 136-138.

5. Widow's House // Smirnova L.N. Nizhny Novgorod before and after: Istor.-lit. essays. - N. Novgorod: Begemot, 2009 .-- S. 187-188.

6. Galai, Y. Capital for charity // City and townspeople. - 2010. - No. 5 (Jan. – Feb.). - S. 8.

7. Each family is famous and glorious: From the history of Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneurship XYII - early. XX century / Comp. A.N. Golubinova, N.F. Filatov, L.G. Chandyrina. - N. Novgorod: Committee for Archives, Administrator. nizhegor. region, 2009 .-- 272 p.

8.Kazaev, I.I. Plumbing, not worked by slaves // Nizhegor. worker. - 2011 .-- July 11. - S. 7.

9.Kazaev, I. And before the ruble was kept on parole, but on the merchant's // Nizhegor. worker. - 2009 .-- June 10. - S. 5.

10. Lebedinskaya, G. House of compassion and mercy // Nizhegor. worker. - 2008 .-- 14 nov. - S. 6.

11.Medvedeva, A.A. Guardianship and charitable activities in the Nizhny Novgorod province until 1917 // Nizhegor. old man. - 2011. - No. 12. - S. 12-15.

12. Mikhailova, S. Lunch cost five kopecks // City and townspeople. - 2009. - No. 18 (Apr-May). - S. 16.

Introduction

In the old "Scribes" are called among the townspeople of Nizhny Novgorod "the best people", that along the Volga "they go up and down by ships and who trade in all sorts of goods in large quantities." The resourcefulness and the ability to conduct business created glory for the Nizhny Novgorod merchants. Favorable conditions, and sometimes, on the contrary, the most difficult obstacles contributed to the advancement of the most capable and stubborn people from the people to the merchant class, the first ranks of industrialists and financiers. Especially a lot of talent manifested itself in Russia in the last century during the post-reform period. The strongest turned out to be people from Old Believer families, where the upbringing was very harsh. Such immigrants became the backbone of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants.

Were strong and graspingmerchants Bugrovs ... The Bugrovs are an eminent merchant surname, and its whole history is inseparable from the Nizhny Novgorod fair. This connection went along two main lines: work at the fair and trade at it. The founder of the Bugrovsk company, Peter Egorovich, has already begun to work for the fair. In his youth, he boiled on the Volga and worked a lot for the good of the fair, pulling merchant ships to the Makarii. When he became a transport contractor, he helped build a fair in Nizhny Novgorod, supplying rubble stone and other building materials. P.E. Bugrov began at the fair the main trade of his company - grain. Since 1829, he was the first in the Nizhny Novgorod province to establish a commercial flour-grinding production, having installed four large mills on his native river Linda, became the largest flour grinder and launched an extensive grain trade, primarily at the fair. Compatriots P.E. Bugrova, who inhabited the villages of Kantaurovo, Tolokontsevo and Sitniki, rolled excellent felt boots and poyarkovy hats (made from the delicate wool of a young poyarka sheep). But they had serious difficulties with the sale of products, which the buyers deftly used, robbing the handicraftsmen. Petr Egorovich helped his fellow countrymen: since 1832 he organized the sale of felted products at the fair on favorable terms for them. The most famous item E. Bugrov acquired as a skilled construction contractor. Construction work at the fair was considered the most profitable because it was stable and well paid. The fair building contract consisted of two parts. The first is to build, maintain, disassemble, repair and store the bridges until the next season. And there were a lot of them. The main one is the pontoon bridge over the Oka. Then two bridges to the ridge sands, 12 bridges over the bypass canal: four carriageways and eight pedestrian bridges. The second part - temporary wooden structures, which included eight premises for the police, Cossack barracks with officers' rooms, bunks, a kitchen, a stable, a shed, rush stations, a manger for feed and a sentry box; 23 Cossack pickets with horse sheds; two fire sheds with watchtowers, quarters for teams and horses; five guardhouses: three general, one for non-commissioned officers and one Cossack; premises for lamplighters and a blizzard team (janitors). These are only mandatory buildings, and besides them, many others were required, the construction of which arose out of unforeseen needs. Fair building contract long time the venerable Nizhny Novgorod merchants alternately held the Pyatovs and the Michurins. At first, the peasant Bugrov was unable to compete with them. But his credibility in the business community helped. The fair building contract was so extensive that V.K. Michurin in 1847 attracted Petr Egorovich himself to his subcontractors. In this work, Bugrov delved into the content of the contract in detail and at the next auction in 1850 threw the gauntlet of a challenge to all competitors from the merchant class. A large deposit was required to participate in the auction. Pyotr Egorovich took a big risk, mortgaging his house on the Nizhne-Volga embankment, valued at 11,754 rubles, and in a bitter struggle tore this prestigious contract out of the merchant's hands. The merchant A.M. Gubin. Bugrov defeated him with just one ruble: Gubin agreed to perform in a row for 81 601 rubles, and Bugrov took in a row for 81 600 rubles in silver (in banknotes the amount is 3.5 times more). This prestigious contract P.E. Bugrov tenaciously held in his hands until his death in 1859, each time at the next auction, held four years later, beating competitors with a reasonable price and high quality workmanship. Unfortunately, his heir, his son Alexander, was unable to keep this profitable contract. But he found his place at the fair. Owning vast forests, Alexander Petrovich became the main supplier of building materials to the fair, supplying it with all kinds of timber. A.P. Bugrov significantly expanded the flour-grinding production, placing two powerful mills at a new location, on the Sejm River. As a result, the role of the Nizhny Novgorod fair in the sale of grocery products from the Bugrovsk company has increased. In 1870, the Bugrovs rented 10 trading places at the fair, mainly in the flour row. But the fair, which was empty for ten months of the year, was often devastated by fires, especially its wooden part. After the great fire of 1872, the fair office sold all the trading places outside the main house and the guest house to private hands. The merchants willingly agreed to this, but only stone construction was allowed. The Bugrovs skillfully took advantage of this. They did not begin to restore all their former trading positions, and in a busy place, at the beginning of Moscow (now Soviet) street, they erected three stone two-story trading buildings. The location turned out to be very good, next to the train station. It was possible to trade here not only during the fair season, but all year round. These houses were built so soundly that to this day they carry out their trade mission (Soviet, 20). The grandson of Peter Egorovich, Nikolai Aleksandrovich, took an active part in the improvement of the fair. By the 80s of the 19th century, the main fairground with its two wings had become so dilapidated that the commission for its reconstruction came to a disappointing conclusion: "no repairs can achieve that the house and the outbuildings were adapted to the modern requirements of the fair." Therefore, the members of the commission "considered it more rational to dismantle the existing buildings to the ground and build one common new building." An all-Russian competition for the project was announced, the best one, which received the first prize, was selected. To supervise the quality of construction, an authoritative commission was formed from the most respected merchants, which included N.A. Bugrov. As a result, the monumental building of the main fairground was erected in just one year and consecrated on June 15, 1890. For active participation in the reconstruction of this beauty of Nizhny Novgorod, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bugrov was awarded a high government award - the Order of St. Stanislav, II degree. Nikolai Alexandrovich himself was content with little: his usual food was cabbage soup and porridge with black bread, he dressed in an ordinary merchant's outfit - a sheepskin coat, frock coat, boots, slept on the stove or on the beds. He had dozens of steamers, steam mills, warehouses, piers, hundreds of acres of forest, whole villages. He built a famous shelter for the homeless, a shelter for widows and orphans, did not spare money for the construction of churches, hospitals and schools. They put a lot of effort into it, they multiplied their capital on it.

No less significantmerchants Rukavishnikovs ... In 1812, the merchant Grigory Rukavishnikov arrived from Balakhna to Nizhny Novgorod. The then unknown businessman was not going to waste time on trifles and knew for sure why he was going to the capital of the province. He rode so that in decades his descendants would proudly bear the title of "kings of steel". For five years, Gregory managed to firmly establish himself in the city. By 1817, Rukavishnikov already had three shops at the Nizhny Novgorod Fair and a wholesale trade in iron. In 1822, the merchant built his own steel plant. Grigory Rukavishnikov made sure that his son continued his work with dignity and skill. At the age of 19, Mikhail Rukavishnikov became the head of his father's plant. For over 40 years, Mikhail Grigorievich Rukavishnikov has been manufacturing high-quality steel, traded in it and gave his business a real scale. Rukavishnikov's steel was traded in St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Transcaucasia, and even supplied to Persia. The manufactory advisor, the first guild, the merchant Mikhail Grigorievich Rukavishnikov became one of the most influential persons in the city, but he did not lose his quickness of mind and the desire for change. He was constantly aware of all the innovations and adopted the best experience. The only one of the Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneurs, he subscribed to the magazine Manufactures and Trade and the newspaper Manufacturing and Gornozavodskie Izvestia. For the severity and toughness in business, the workers and office workers respectfully called Rukavishnikov an iron old man. Although they could well be called the "golden old man". Mikhail Grigorievich made a huge fortune - after his death he left his sons five million rubles each (incredible money at that time). Nizhny Novgorod should be grateful to Rukavishnikov for his extensive charitable work. The merchant who knew how to count money spared no expense in helping those who really needed it. At the expense of Rukavishnikov, the Mariinsky women's gymnasium and orphanages were maintained. One of Rukavishnikov's sons, Ivan Mikhailovich, was a member of the board of trustees of the Kulibinsk vocational school, a member of the board of the House of Labor, a member of the Widow's House committee. In 1908, with donations from Ivan Mikhailovich Rukavishnikov, a stone house was built - a dormitory for boys leaving the Widow's House (according to the charter of the house, boys who turned 15 were deprived of the right to live there). He also built a school where the children of widows learned the craft. Together with his brothers and sisters, Ivan Mikhailovich built the House of Diligence (now it is the old building of the "Nizhpoligraf"). The building housed more than 200 beggars, who, for plucking tow and scratching bast, received a small daily wage, a night's lodging and food twice a day. Annually Ivan Mikhailovich appropriated a thousand rubles in favor of poor Nizhny Novgorod brides. Donated to the zemstvo barracks in the colony of the mentally ill in Lyakhov (until recently there was a "Rukavishnikov barrack" there) and for infectious patients in Dalniy Konstantinov. In 1900 he donated two thousand rubles for juvenile delinquents in the colonies. After the death of Ivan Mikhailovich, a will remained: about 200 thousand rubles - for churches, various charitable and educational institutions; 75 thousand rubles - for a shelter for boys at the Widows' House. One of the sons of M. G. Rukavishnikov - Vladimir Mikhailovich - was a juror of the city Duma. Since 1875, he supported a school for 40 boys and a chapel at his own expense, spending up to 40 thousand rubles a year. Talented children from all over the country were recruited to the school and put them on full support: they were clothed, fed, and educated (general and musical). After school, the boys became choristers of the choir of the Trinity Church, money for the construction of which was also given by the Rukavishnikovs. The most talented students became soloists of the capital's opera houses. A graduate of this school, Pavel Koshits sang at the Bolshoi Theater, and Aleksey Maksimovich Gorky's cousin Alexander Kashirin served in the famous church choir of Rukavishnikov. One of the most picturesque houses in Nizhny Novgorod (now it belongs to the historical and architectural museum-reserve), located on the slope, belonged to Sergei Mikhailovich Rukavishnikov. The house was intended only for the family of Sergei Mikhailovich, a tax was taken from the owner to the city treasury annually - 1933 rubles, the most significant amount in the city. In 1903, electricity was installed in it - in the first of the private houses in Nizhny Novgorod. Sergei Mikhailovich also generously donated money to charity, mainly for the needs of monasteries and churches. After his death, a dinner was organized at the House of Industriousness for the poor for a thousand people, and visitors to the shelter were given money. At the end of the 19th century, the Rukavishnikovs built a huge two-hull bank building, which with its main facade overlooked Rozhdestvenskaya Street (now the Volga River Shipping Company is located there), and the other - to the Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment. So the memory of the glorious surname of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants is adequately captured in the architecture of our city.

Another clan of merchants of the Nizhny Novgorod land -Bashkirovs ... They became widely known trading house"Emelyan Bashkirov and Sons". Emelyan Bashkirov started his "business" trading hay in bazaars. Having earned good money, he moved his family to Nizhny Novgorod and expanded the scale of the business - he began to trade in everyday goods outside his native province, going along the Volga to Astrakhan. A few years later, having increased his capital to 10 thousand rubles, he enrolled in the merchants of the Nizhny Novgorod 1st guild and in 1871, together with his sons Nikolay, Yakov and Matvey, opened his trading and flour-grinding enterprise - the Nizhny Novgorod trading house “Emelyan Bashkirov and sons ". The entrepreneur himself was illiterate: he could not sign the constituent documents, asking his comrade to do it for himself - the Nizhny Novgorod 2nd guild merchant Pupkov, but Bashkirov's sons signed with their own hands. The main achievement of the Bashkirovs' trading house was that, just a few years after its foundation, it was awarded the right to constantly supply flour to the country's “main baker”, entrepreneur Filippov, who had a bakery and the most popular bakery in Moscow on Tverskaya. In an effort to modernize flour-grinding production, the Bashkirovs equipped a mill in the Blagoveshchenskaya Sloboda with a new powerful elevator, on the construction of which they spent almost 100 thousand rubles. They invested in the development of their cargo fleet, as well as in the expansion of retail chains, through which they sold their own products. In 1891, after the death of their father, the Bashkirov brothers decided to divide the family capital, which at that time was 9.5 million rubles, into three equal parts. Having received more than three million each, they founded their own flour-milling and trading companies: Nikolai - in Samara, Yakov and Matvey - in Nizhny Novgorod. The mill in Kunavinskaya Sloboda went to the middle brother - Yakov. The high quality of the Bashkir flour (it was considered the best in the country) was repeatedly noted at exhibitions and fairs, including gold medals in Vienna, Paris and London. At the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in 1896, the Bashkirovs' flour received the highest award and entrepreneurs were given the right to mark their products with the State Emblem. Over time, Yakov Bashkirov's "Milling Association" became a supplier to the imperial court of the Romanovs, and he himself was awarded the title of nobility and the title "Honorary Citizen of Nizhny Novgorod."

Following Bugrov, they established an 8-hour working day at their factories, allocated free premises to workers in barracks at the mills, were the first in Nizhny Novgorod to introduce maternity benefits, and cared about increasing the general literacy and qualifications of workers. In 1912, the first "sickness fund" appeared in Nizhny Novgorod, which was organized by Matvey Bashkirov at his mill. Children of deceased workers were given a one-time allowance of 30 rubles, for the funeral of workers' families - 6 rubles, women in labor - 4 rubles. When the Polytechnic Institute, evacuated from Warsaw, moved to Nizhny Novgorod, Matvey handed his rector a check for half a million rubles - the most generous donation among Nizhny Novgorod merchants. Matvey Yemelyanovich was considered the uncrowned king of Nizhny Novgorod, but this man, who had enormous wealth and significant financial power, always tried to remain in the shadows. Yakov Bashkirov was also a generous philanthropist: he donated for the construction of churches, helped funds to the city theater, a real school, built women's and men's vocational schools. The latter, located in Kunavin, later became known as Bashkirovsky. In 1908, the flour millers of the Volga region opened a school in Nizhny for the training of qualified specialists-grain workers, fitters, millers - on the basis of the school of millers, which had long been successfully working at one of Yakov Bashkirov's mills. There were only four such schools in Russia: in Nizhny, Odessa, Warsaw and Minsk. Now in the building of the former Bashkirovsky school (on Priokskaya street, house number 6) the Priokskoe branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation is located. Almost 100 years later, the business of the Bashkir millers in our city is continued by the OJSC Nizhegorodsky flour mill, the largest flour producer in the region, which occupies the buildings of the former Bashkir mill in Kunavin. They are listed under No. 96, 96 A and 94 on the street. International and belong to the oldest industrial buildings in Nizhny Novgorod.

In the context of a rethinking of traditions, at a turning point in the rapid development of capitalism, it was not easy to form such a large-scale and popular figure of his formation among Nizhny Novgorod residents, as a millionaire seems to be.Dmitry Vasilievich Sirotkin.

Sirotkin, Dmitry Vasilyevich (1865-1946) - a prominent figure of the Old Believers, chairman of the Council of the All-Russian Congresses of Old Believers of the Belokrinitsa Consent, chairman of the council of the Nizhny Novgorod community. One of the richest shipbuilders in Russia and a stockbroker. Born in the village of Ostapovo (Astapovo), near the village of Purekh, Balakhninsky district, Nizhny Novgorod province. His parents - Vasily Ivanovich and Vera Mikhailovna - were peasants of this village. Starting with the sale of "wood chips" and handicrafts, his father then started two small steamers, Dmitry Vasilyevich worked as a cook on the "Volia" steamer as a child. Having married in 1890 to the daughter of a Kazan merchant-steamer Kuzma Sidorovich Chetvergov, with the help of his father-in-law in 1895 he bought his first tugboat. Then he acquired the oil transportation business of S.M. Shibaev's company (4 tugs). In 1907, Dmitry Vasilyevich Sirotkin's Commercial, Industrial and Steamship Partnership was formed with a capital of 1.5 million rubles (15 steamers, about 50 non-steam vessels, including more than 20 barges). In 1910, D.V. Sirotkin became the managing director of the large shipping company Volga. Since 1907 - Chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod Stock Exchange Committee. Since 1908 - Chairman of the Council of Congresses of Shipowners of the Volga Basin. By 1913 Sirotkin became the chairman of the joint-stock steamship company "On the Volga". For the construction of the board building, he bought a plot of land at the corner of the Nizhny Novgorod Slope and Seminarskaya Square, and ordered the construction project to the Vesnin brothers. This building has survived, it is located on the Verkhne-Volzhskaya embankment, 1, now the medical institute is located in it. According to the Vesnins' project (with the participation of S.A. Novikov), next to the building of the board in 1913, construction of a residential building began, in which Sirotkin intended to "live for four years", and then donate the Art Museum (which is now located there) to the city ... Sirotkin was a significant church benefactor. He financed the construction of an Old Believer church in his native village in 1913, designed by the Vesnin brothers, architects. Was one of the donors for the "Church" magazine. The Nizhny Novgorod community existed on his donations; the prayer house, where the services were held, also belonged to Sirotkin. Since 1899 - Chairman of the Council of All-Russian Congresses of Old Believers of the Belokrinitsa hierarchy. In 1908, advocating an increase in the rights of the laity in the Church, he came into conflict with Bishop Innocent of Nizhny Novgorod and Kostroma. After a long struggle, the general meeting of community members on September 12, 1910 forced Sirotkin to resign from the post of chairman. Following this, in 1910, Sirotkin resigned from the post of chairman of the Council of Old Believer Congresses. The delegates to the 10th Congress, by a majority vote, asked him to stay. Being the mayor, he suggested that Gorky arrange for the unemployed a day refuge, the famous "Pillars". The money for the device was allocated by the Duma and the famous benefactor N.A. Bugrov. In 1917, Sirotkin built an old believer almshouse with a temple on the street in memory of his deceased mother. Zhukovskaya (now - Minin Street), where he supported the church choir at his own expense. On March 29, 1913, Sirotkin was elected mayor of Nizhny Novgorod for a four-year term. Refused the salary of the mayor. Soon began major scandal associated with Sirotkin's belonging to the Old Believers. In Nizhny Novgorod, on May 7, 1913, at the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the royal dynasty, a prayer service was held in the presence of the tsar. Since the New Believer priests were serving, the mayor was defiantly not baptized. For the second time he was elected as mayor for 1917-1920. The elections took place on February 7, 1917, and in early September D.V. Sirotkin was replaced by the mayor of the Provisional Government. During his tenure as the mayor in Nizhny Novgorod, the construction of the sewerage began, the tram and electric facilities were bought into the ownership of the city, and the city bakery was opened. D.V. Sirotkin took part in the opening in 1915 at the People's University. In the fall of 1917, from the "Political Union of Old Believer Consent", he became a member of the Provisional Council of the Republic ("Pre-Parliament"). In November 1917, he ran for deputies of the Constituent Assembly on the list of the Union of Old Believers, but was not elected. In 1918-1919 he was in the White South, mainly in Rostov-on-Don. He played an important role in the local business community. At the end of 1919 he left for France. In the 1920s he settled in Yugoslavia with his family, where he lived on the income from the operation of two small steamers. Almost nothing is known about the last years of his life.

No less famous becameBlinovs merchants ... The "clan" of the Blinovs - Nizhny Novgorod merchants of the 19th - early 20th centuries - is known throughout Russia. And for good reason. Former serfs Blinovs were able to become the largest entrepreneurs in the Russian state in a short time and prove themselves as successful industrialists and generous benefactors.

Who would have thought that the famous merchant dynasty of the Blinovs emerged from the serfs. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 19th century, the peasant family of the Blinovs from the Balakhninsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod province belonged to the Nizhny Novgorod prince Repnin. The first mention of the founder of a merchant dynasty in Nizhny Novgorod is found in the list of persons to whom a certificate for the right to trade was issued in 1846. The document reads: "The Nizhny Novgorod province of the Balakhna district to the peasant Fyodor Andreevich Blinov freed from Prince Repnin." Apparently, even at that distant time, the former serf was a fairly wealthy man. He became one of the first shipowners who began to use steam traction in his enterprise instead of a burlak webbing. It is known that in the 50s of the XIX century the entrepreneur Blinov owned three steamers: the tug "Voevoda", the capstan "Lev" and the steamer-runner "Dove". A little later, Fyodor Blinov got three more iron tugs: the owner's "namesake" - "Blinov", as well as "Assistant" and "Sever". In addition, Blinov's merchant flotilla possessed a considerable number of iron and wooden barges. How could a person who until recently was a simple peasant have been able to amass such a huge fortune in a short time? Most researchers believe that Fyodor Andreevich made his fixed assets primarily through contracts related to the transportation and sale of salt. On Blinov's barges, salt was delivered from the lower reaches of the Volga and from Perm to Rybinsk and further along Sheksna, the Mariinsky system to St. Petersburg. By modern standards, the traffic volumes were significant. For example, in just one season in 1870, 350 thousand poods of Astrakhan sedimentary salt (eltonka) were exported on the ships of Blinov. Even at the Perm salt factories, less salt was produced during that period than was involved in the trade of a Nizhny Novgorod merchant. In contracts for the transportation of salt and bread, Fyodor Blinov was assisted by his brother Nikolai. The third of the brothers, Aristarchus, also traded in salt. In the "pocket of Russia" the Balakhna peasant settled down thoroughly. Back in the early 1850s, Fyodor Blinov was building a complex of stone buildings on Sofronovskaya Square in Nizhny Novgorod. In addition to the residential building, there were shops, as well as a horse mill for grinding salt. Blinov's straw mill was, by the way, the only one in the Nizhny Novgorod province at that time. It employed eight hundred workers and produced salt for 42 thousand rubles annually. The only thing that somewhat hindered the merchant in his affairs was a true faith in God - a faith according to which only the pre-Nikonian postulates of Orthodoxy were honored. As an Old Believer, Blinov often experienced harassment from the authorities. But no religious difficulties could prevent the Blinovs from becoming one of the richest people in the Nizhny Novgorod region. And they left their memory of themselves not at all because of their attachment to "Plyushkin's" hoarding, as the Old Believer habit of all schismatic merchants to save their money was often interpreted. The surname of the merchants Blinovs forever associated itself with high-profile philanthropic deeds.

From the history of charity in the Nizhny Novgorod province

in the period XIX - early. XX centuries.

(based on materials from the Central Archives of the Nizhny Novgorod Region)

Dictionaries and reference books of pre-revolutionary Russia determined "charity" as "a manifestation of compassion for one's neighbor and the moral obligation of the one who has to rush to help the poor", and also as "doing good, taking care of the decrepit, crippled, sick, and poor." All the basic concepts of the phenomenon under consideration are laid down here: first, the understanding of charity as a matter kind and, moreover, responsibilities moral; secondly, the poor or the sick (that is, in modern terms, socially unprotected strata of society) should be surrounded by the care of philanthropists. There is a certain historical tradition charity in Russia. Caring for the poor has always been one of the most important precepts of Christianity, and the clergy were given the opportunity to carry out active charitable activities with significant sums of money that came from the tithe (one tenth of all income) allocated to the church and contributions “for the sake of the soul”. The wealthy laity also tried to follow the example of the clergy.

The Nizhny Novgorod region was no exception. On the pages of the "Nizhegorodsky Chronicle" we find references to the merchant guest Taras Petrov, who at his own expense repeatedly ransomed many compatriots from the Horde captivity, helping them to return to their homeland. Handwritten synodics of the 16th-17th centuries of the Annunciation, Pechersky, Makaryevsky and other monasteries of our region indicate in detail how and on what days to "put food for the church orphans" and give alms to commemorate the souls of the dead church rulers and secular rulers. It also mentions the monastic almshouses, in which the elderly and crippled warriors found shelter and food, or even simply "poor men and women." At the same time, charity in the Nizhny Novgorod region had its own characteristics, the reason for which was the commercial and industrial nature of our region.

The rapid economic development of the Nizhny Novgorod Territory constantly attracted thousands of working people to the region. Every year crowds of artisans arrived in Nizhny Novgorod, Balakhna, Gorbatov, Makariev. Not everyone found work right away; often the families of those who left for work were in poverty without help from the breadwinners; inevitable industrial injuries led to the emergence of more and more "crippled", which the monastery almshouses could no longer support. These processes were aggravated in the 18th century, when the first large industrial enterprises-manufactories appeared in the Nizhny Novgorod province, in particular, iron and rope production. In such a situation, private charity turned out to be ineffective, which led to well-known social upheavals (peasant wars of St. Razin and E. Pugachev, urban uprisings and actions of robber bands on the Volga until the end of the 18th century, etc.). In other words, the economic development of the region led to an increase in population, among which the number of poor people became more and more.

Adopted in 1775, the "Institution of Provinces", among other things, tried to outline ways of solving the problems of social security. First, individuals were officially granted the right to establish charitable institutions. Secondly, the state took over part of the social security of the population. So, on the basis of the "Institution of provinces" in the Nizhny Novgorod province in 1779 was created Public Charity Order, which was entrusted with the responsibilities of organizing almshouses, orphanages, work and restraining houses, as well as public schools, pharmacies and hospitals. The order was headed by the governor (ex officio), and the leadership included prominent provincial officials. Similar Orders were instituted in other provinces of Russia. The creation of the Order of Public Charity was the first step towards the emergence of a system of guardianship bodies, which, a century later, were already widespread in Russian society.

Concept "Guardianship"(Old Russian "pechisya" - to take care) has a centuries-old history in Russia, but by the beginning of the 19th century it was expanding its significance - from caring for the fate of a particular person to caring for entire branches of society. As conceived by the ruling circles of the Russian Empire, trusteeships were intended to become a link between benefactors and administrative bodies. This determined the status, goals and objectives, as well as the composition of the trusteeship bodies both in the Nizhny Novgorod province and throughout the country. The board of trustees (less often councils) operating since the beginning of the 19th century were created primarily as advisory bodies under the governor. The purpose of their creation was to improve administrative management in the humanitarian sphere, that is, in education, social security, etc. Therefore, usually the top officials of the province were included in the composition of the provincial board of trustees, and with the right of an advisory vote or with the rights of honorary members - representatives of the public, specialists in the field of education and health. The structure of the county guardianship committees was similar, which were always headed (ex officio) by the administrative head of the county, and also included representatives of the public and merchants known for their charitable activities. By creating bodies of trusteeship, the provincial and district administrations received an effective means of directing and distributing charitable aid to precisely those industries where this aid, in the opinion of the authorities, was needed first of all. And the personal participation of senior officials of the province and district in the trusteeship committees not only ensured control over the receipt and expenditure of funds, but was also intended to stimulate wider participation of the inhabitants of various classes (noblemen, merchants, bourgeoisie, commoners, wealthy peasants) in charitable activities.

It was in this spirit that Russian legislation on charitable institutions, adopted in the second half of the 19th century, was sustained. As you know, before the abolition of serfdom (1861), which marked the beginning of the era of "great reforms" of Alexander II, charitable societies existed only in 8 cities of Russia. The liberation of the peasants from serfdom led, among other things, to the emergence of a large number of socially unprotected people - former courtyard servants who became unnecessary in the deserted aristocratic economy, "temporarily liable", who could not quickly find earnings and pay arrears, and the ruined and impoverished nobles themselves, predominantly from small landowners, who quickly squandered the redemption certificates and drank "bitter" out of grief. And along with this, the reforms ensured the rapid growth of Russian industry, which again and again attracted thousands of workers to the Nizhny Novgorod province. Our region was rapidly changing its appearance, becoming from a commercial developed industrial-industrial.

Population growth became more and more significant: according to official statistics, in 1866, 1,257,601 people lived in the Nizhny Novgorod province, in 1878 - 1,347,708 people, and by 1900 the number of inhabitants exceeded 1,650,000 people. Add to this seasonal workers, persons not registered, but permanently living in the province ... And all people needed housing (at least temporary), food (at least the most modest), work (even the hardest!), And also the opportunity if necessary, receive medical assistance, teach children crafts and literacy, which has become more and more in demand. The economic successes of the region and the emergence of a noticeable social group of successful entrepreneurs made it possible to generously allocate funds for charitable purposes, and the guardianship bodies operating by that time made it possible to quickly channel funds for social needs. The legislative basis here was the decree of 1862, which provided the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) with the right to authorize the creation of charitable societies, and the Imperial Order of 1869 given in its development, which gave the Ministry of Internal Affairs the right to independently establish these societies. At the same time, the created charitable society, the charter of which was approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs (after 1905 - by the governor), was obliged to regularly submit to the provincial government reports on its actions, capital, income and expenses, institutions and the number of those who were in them. Thus, the administrative bodies of the provinces and counties (all of them until 1917 were part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) determined the priorities in charitable activities and organized the investment of funds, constantly monitoring this process. Of course, not all of the plans were successful (and in the end they did not succeed - this is evidenced by the social conflicts of the early 20th century, crowned with the revolution that led to the collapse of the Russian Empire), but there was corn. Let's try to extract this useful historical experience by analyzing the specific areas of trusteeship and charity in the Nizhny Novgorod province.

Guardianship in the field of education

Chronologically the earliest (1803) was guardianship in the field of education . The territory of Nizhny Novgorod and a number of other provinces was initially included in the Kazan, then the Moscow educational district, which was headed by a trustee - a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Public Education (MNP). At the level of the province, Nizhny Novgorod was subordinate to the trustee. provincial school council, also belonging to the department of the MNP and headed (ex officio) by the provincial leader of the nobility and the director of the provincial public schools. The council consisted of representatives from the MNP (usually the director of a gymnasium), from the spiritual department (rector of the cathedral), from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (adviser to the provincial government), one or two representatives from the zemstvo. Judging by the surviving archival documents, the council controlled the financial and economic issues activities of educational institutions, monitored the observance of general standards of reliability of teaching staff and students, resolved controversial issues of appointment and dismissal of teachers, petitioned the trustee for the encouragement of teachers. In its activities, the provincial school council relied on a network county school councils.

In addition, each secondary educational institution (gymnasium, noble institute) had its own board of trustees- an advisory body under the director, which had some analogy with modern parental committees. The board of trustees included (ex officio) a governor or a vice-governor, several high-ranking officials whose children studied at this gymnasium, as well as members of the public (usually from the zemstvo); in women's gymnasiums, the council also included the wives of these persons. Judging by the surviving "attendance logs" (meeting minutes), the board of trustees decided issues of exemption from tuition fees, considered the possibility of introducing additional lessons, and coordinated the reception of teachers. The competence of the council also included the coordination of reports on the educational and economic state of the educational institution, applications for the encouragement of teachers, consideration of applications of various persons for the admission of their children to study outside the general framework. In addition, in the affairs of the board of trustees of the Nizhny Novgorod Mariinsky female gymnasium for 1900-1908, there are examples of decisions of the council on organizing the teaching of the Law of God for female students of non-Orthodox faith, on conflict situations between the class and the teacher, but such questions rarely arose in the council's activities.

In general, in the field of public education, charity was a noticeable phenomenon. Thus, the well-known Nizhny Novgorod figure, merchant Ya.E. Bashkirov completely at his own expense expands the building of the Nizhny Novgorod Kulibinsk vocational school and boarding school with him, for which on October 13, 1906, he was thanked by the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma. The documents mention that the widow of a hereditary honorary citizen Ermolaev in February 1912 bequeathed all her property in favor of the People's University that was opening in Nizhny Novgorod.

Knyagininsky 2nd guild merchant P.I. Karpov, at his own expense at the Stroganov Church in Nizhny Novgorod, opened and maintained a school for 70 students. In addition, he donated 25 thousand rubles for the construction of a number of schools in the districts of the Nizhny Novgorod province. Nizhny Novgorod merchant F.A. Blinov donated his own house with wings at the corner of Ilyinskaya and Sergievskaya streets for a real school. The Nizhny Novgorod Stock Exchange Society, at the expense of its members, approves the Mininsky Stock Exchange Charitable Society of grants to underprivileged students of Nizhny Novgorod. The society provided funds to needy pupils and female students of Nizhny Novgorod educational institutions for renting an apartment, food, clothing, textbooks; arranged school holidays, excursions, trips for students with their capital. Each member of the society contributed at least 1,000 rubles to the cashier. Aid societies for poor students in Nizhny Novgorod also operated at the Nizhny Novgorod women's gymnasium Gerken, at the Khrenovskaya, Torsuevskaya gymnasiums, and at the Milov real school. A society for the needy pupils of the Varnavin women's gymnasium and the Varnavin city school existed in Varnavin since 1910 at the expense of local benefactors. At a number of educational institutions of the province, there were scholarships for students, bearing the names of the benefactors of this educational institution.

In addition to the educational process itself, the trusteeship bodies in the field of education also encouraged charity aimed at supporting the teaching staff of educational institutions in the Nizhny Novgorod province. The board of trustees of gymnasiums and schools almost always exempted teachers from paying for the education of their children. To help improve the welfare of teachers, the provincial government in 1894 supported the initiative of the intelligentsia to create "Societies for the mutual assistance of teachers and female teachers of the Nizhny Novgorod province"... By January 1, 1903, the Society had 1,262 members in its ranks and had branches in Arzamassky, Gorbatovsky, Makaryevsky and Nizhny Novgorod districts. The best members of the local community were on the board; among them - the outstanding Russian statistician Nikolai Fedorovich Annensky (founder of the Society), Pavel Arkadyevich Demidov (chairman of the provincial zemstvo council, for many years - chairman of the board of the Society), as well as G.R. Kelewein, A.A. Savelyeva and others. The authority of the Society's leadership and the support of the provincial authorities made it possible, with an obvious lack of funds from the treasury, to actively attract private donations. So, when completing a dormitory for the children of teachers, the MNP was able to allocate only 300 rubles out of the required 5,000 rubles. The missing funds were provided by collections from concerts and lectures held for the benefit of the Society, from books and brochures published for charitable purposes. Among those who helped the teachers of Nizhny Novgorod with their works were outstanding people of that time: historian professor (later academician) S.F. Platonov, artist
V. Petrova-Zvantseva, writers A.I. Kuprin, T.L. Shchepkina-Kupernik, L.N. Andreev and, of course, the idols of local youth - Maxim Gorky and Fyodor Chaliapin. There were also other, non-monetary forms of assistance to teachers and their families, including free medical care (almost all doctors in Nizhny Novgorod provided it to members of society), the provision of medicines from pharmacies at discounted prices and apartments for teachers who came on holidays and vacations, the maintenance of libraries, etc. replenishment of them with periodicals and special editions. Wealthy residents of Nizhny Novgorod considered it very prestigious for themselves to transfer considerable sums to the Society's account to pay scholarships to children of low-income teachers (in 1912 - 62 people, 11 rubles a month), to organize meals for them (“Lunch consists of two courses: the first is always meat ... "). The representatives of the administration regularly attended the meetings of the Society, supervised the reports of the board.

Interestingly, not all types of education received active support from the authorities. The provincial administration was primarily concerned with primary, classical and real (including technical) education. It was in educational institutions of this profile - public schools, gymnasiums and real schools - that in the first place, the board of trustees were created. And, for example, musical education in Nizhny Novgorod and the province did not have trusteeship bodies, probably because it was considered not as priority as the general education of the population. Of course, the lack of official care of the authorities does not mean that there was no charity in this area. On the contrary, thanks to the generous help of patrons of art, musical life in Nizhny Novgorod at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries flourished, giving Russia a number of famous musicians.

Children's shelters

From the middle of the 19th century, documents of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial guardianship of orphanages, belonging to the department of institutions of the Empress Maria, which later entered the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The governor was ex-officio chairman of this body; the guardianship also included the vice-governor, the provincial marshal of the nobility, the director of public schools, the chairman of the provincial zemstvo council, the mayor, the directors of the orphanages, and also usually the wives of the highest provincial officials. The provincial guardianship relied on the network of the county guardianship of orphanages. The composition of the district bodies was similar: the district leader of the nobility, the police chief, the mayor and other officials. The guardianship included representatives of the merchants and intellectuals on the rights of "honorary members", with the payment of an annual fee and after approval by the authorities.

The provincial guardianship included the Alexandrovsky orphanages (opened on April 21, 1845), the Mariinsky (opened on November 20, 1851), a vocational school at the Alexandrovsky orphanage, as well as an almshouse in the village. Keys (opened April 23, 1905). The number of pupils in them was relatively small: for example, in 1914 (the beginning of the First World War) there were 45 boys in the Alexandrovsky orphanage, 114 girls in the Mariinsky, 14 inmates were in the Klyuchishchenskaya almshouse. At the same time, these charitable institutions possessed very significant real estate, including stone buildings. The budget for the guardianship of orphanages was formed mainly from the treasury, and partly from charitable activities (for some years, the documents, for example, recorded a ratio of 5/1, respectively). There are cases when some state institutions took part of the costs of maintaining shelters on themselves (for example, the provincial department of excise duties). Usually the membership fee was 200 rubles per year; some members of the board of trustees, who were not involved in entrepreneurship, provided assistance to shelters in a different form (for example, medical care for inmates was free). In addition, many Nizhny Novgorod merchants, even not being members of the trusteeship, donated food, delicacies, holiday gifts to shelters, paid for children to attend entertainment events, etc.

Many private benefactors followed the example of the provincial guardianship of orphanages. Makarievsky 2nd guild merchant A.S. Kalinin-Shushlyaev donated his dacha worth 10 thousand rubles for an orphanage. At the expense of a hereditary honorary citizen M.V. Bochkareva, since 1911, a school for blind children operated in Nizhny Novgorod, located on Ilyinskaya Street in the philanthropist's own estate. In 1892, in Nizhny Novgorod opened Asylum for the charity of poor children at the city Society for the Aid to the Poor, designed for 100 pupils of both sexes aged 4 to 12 years. Nizhny Novgorod city educational house named after M.F. and E.P. Sukharevs (he acted together with the women's almshouse of the same name) totaled 59 children of both sexes by 1905. For the charity of poor children "Millionka" (an area inhabited by the urban poor and tramps), an orphanage under the Zhivonosnovsky parish trusteeship operated since 1906, bearing the name of Archbishop Nazariy since 1911. This orphanage brought up 48 children of both sexes from 2 to 13 years old. Orphanage Trustee A.N. Zaitseva (the wife of a well-known merchant in the city), with her personal donations and the involvement of benefactors, not only contributed to the material well-being of the shelter, but also helped to arrange Christmas trees, sent toys and gifts for the children. It is interesting to note that the whole Zaitsev family took part in the charity: the young children of the trustee, Manya, Kolya and Olya, also donated annually to the shelter for their little fellows. Finally, even the orphanage of foundlings of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial zemstvo, which was in the most difficult conditions, was not ignored by benefactors. The names of the trustees of this shelter were preserved in the reports: merchants Palkin, Ermolaev, and also Agniya Nikolaevna Markova provided a lot of help with food, but no less help came from unknown donors.

In general, the guardianship of orphanages dealt mainly with the financial and economic maintenance of the orphanages (heating, lighting, clothing and food for the inmates), and also considered applications for placement in orphanages, on the encouragement of the ministers of the orphanages and donors. Forms of encouragement were usually gratitude "with publication", promotion, a medal (for example, in 1912, an honorary member of the Semyonovsky district trusteeship, PS Stroinsky, was awarded a gold medal "for wearing on the Annenskaya ribbon").

The most striking example of child care was the history of the Nizhny Novgorod city name of Countess O.V. Kutais shelter for minors. In 1874 Olga Vasilievna Kutaisova, wife of the then Governor of Nizhny Novgorod, Count P.I. Kutaisova, donated a capital of 25 thousand rubles for the creation and financing of an orphanage for little orphans. The high social status of the trustee provided her undertaking with the support of not only the governor, but also the emperor Alexander II, who in 1877 ordered the orphanage to be named after Countess Kutaisova. When looking through the archival documents, one gets the impression that after the Highest "good" private donors seemed to be competing with each other, who would do more for the orphanage. Thus, the owner M.N. Kolchigin for the first three years kept an orphanage in his house free of charge. Then, when laying the foundation for his own orphanage building, which provided for the placement of a school and an infirmary there, the merchant Ya.E. Bashkirov donated significant funds to the orphanage and was elected an honorary member of its board of trustees. In 1880 (the year of completion of PI Kutaisov's service as governor of Nizhny Novgorod), the founder of the orphanage and her husband were elected honorary trustees of the institution for life. And besides them, the richest Nizhny Novgorod industrialists Ustin Savvich Kurbatov, Fedor Andreevich Blinov, Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov, merchants Andrei Evlampievich Zaitsev, Nikolai Nikitich Zhadovsky, as well as the mayor Alexei Maksimovich Gubin were elected to the board of trustees. Under them, the size of donations to the orphanage amazed even the capital's benefactors: there were years when up to 60 thousand rubles were transferred to the institution - in money (personal scholarships were especially prestigious), bank notes, building materials for repairs, food ... the best teachers for whom the board of trustees established a special increase in salary. Within the walls of the orphanage, designed for 300 pupils, over the years of its existence, thousands of orphans have grown and studied - boys and girls, offended by fate at the very beginning of life, but warmed by the warmth of the hearts of benefactors and returned to society.

The success of charitable activities in orphanages was so obvious that this form of guardianship continued under Soviet rule. After 1917, the board of trustees at orphanages were public bodies with the aim of assisting in the upbringing, education and maintenance of orphans. The Council also monitored the quality of children's nutrition, the distribution of clothing and its safety, and the spending of funds allocated by the state for the maintenance of orphanages.

Social Security

Charity in the field of social security for the elderly and the poor was based on the centuries-old traditions of Ancient Russia. And in the 19th - early 20th centuries, as before, caring for the poor and ailing fellow countrymen was extremely important for the people of Nizhny Novgorod. Since 1779, these issues in the province were centrally dealt with by the Order of Public Charity, mentioned above, but in 1866 it was abolished in connection with the creation of a system of local self-government bodies. Since that time, social security was transferred to the jurisdiction of the zemstvo and city councils, and a centralized administrative and advisory body for control (the provincial board of trustees) was not created.

The decentralization of social welfare philanthropy did not mean that the focus on the issue was diminishing. After the transfer of social institutions from the jurisdiction of the Order of public charity to the management of the zemstvo, the Nizhny Novgorod provincial zemstvo continued to actively attract funds from private donors for the maintenance of hospitals, almshouses, obstetric institutions, etc. At the same time, such public charitable organizations as, for example, Nizhny Novgorod Society for Helping the Poor... As a result, in the second half - the end of the 19th century, a whole network of almshouses and societies to help the poor emerged in the Nizhny Novgorod province. Almost all of these institutions were supported by private donors, and to attract and monitor the correct spending of funds, institutions created their own board of trustees. The board of trustees included representatives of local government (city and zemstvo councils) and the benefactors proper, who, as a rule, established this almshouse. It was on this principle that the activities of the largest social security institutions in Nizhny Novgorod - "Widow's House" and "House of Labor", were organized. Much has been written about these establishments, but it is still worth briefly recalling the main stages of their history and the merits of their founders.

The building on Lyadov Square (formerly Monastyrskaya) still makes an impression with its size and thoughtfulness of forms. It is not hard to imagine what respect this house aroused with its design and implementation more than a hundred years ago: probably not everyone believed that such an impressive building would not accommodate public places and not even an institute, but only an almshouse, under which wooden huts were usually given away. wreckage. Meanwhile, the "Charter the city public name of the Blinovs and Bugrovs of the Widow's House in Nizhny Novgorod " (1887) read: "The purpose of the Widows House is to deliver comfortable free apartments to indigent widows with their young children." The building was designed for 160 apartments (in fact, over 600 people lived in it), a hospital (with a children's department) and a pharmacy were created under it. Later, in 1907-1908, a vocational school was built at the Widows House, designed to give a profession to children living here with widowed mothers. And all this institution, which required unheard-of capital investments at that time, was entirely built at the expense of private donors - the Nizhny Novgorod merchant families of the Blinovs and Bugrovs. The importance of charity was enshrined in the Regulations on the Committee, which was supposed to manage the Widow's House: general control was vested in the city duma (the mayor was the chairman of the board of trustees), and "philanthropists, whose care and funds the Widow's House was established," became life-long members of the committee. It was determined in the Regulations that members of the committee (except for the founders - Bugrovs and Blinovs) may include, in particular, "those persons who make significant donations worth at least one thousand rubles for the maintenance of the House." And donations were made annually - both in the form of cash "from different persons, for distribution into hands" (note the modesty of the donors who did not consider it necessary to indicate their names!), And in the form of deductions of interest from the capital deposited in the bank and bequeathed To the Widow's House (the documents mention the Goryachevsky, Blinovsky, etc. funds). Of course, there were other forms of gratuitous assistance to those who were in the House: events for children on the occasion of the holidays, the supply of food (and again, the Zaitsev family is mentioned here among the most generous benefactors), free renovation of premises, etc. The philanthropists took care of preparing the younger inhabitants of the Widow's House for an independent life, paying for their education not only in primary schools, but also in secondary educational institutions (gymnasium, a real school, the Noble Institute). The thoughtfulness of the architectural appearance, layout and internal equipment ensured the building a long life: the Widow House, which became a student dormitory, and still remains a remarkable historical and cultural monument of Nizhny Novgorod. Once in the lobby of the building, guests were greeted by "portraits of donors and builders of the Widow's House, hereditary guests of honor of the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod Aristarkh and Nikolai Andreevich Blinov and Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov - on a marble board under glass". Isn't it time to pay this tribute to the great benefactors of Nizhny Novgorod again? ..

Bugrov and the Blinov brothers were not alone in their labors and plans for the benefit of the poor compatriots. In 1893, the Nizhny Novgorod Society for Helping the Poor came up with an initiative "to arrange a shelter for beggar children for 100 people." As a result, it was decided to open "House of industriousness", the purpose of which is to give "to all those in need in Nizhny Novgorod short-term help by providing them with labor, food and shelter, until a more lasting arrangement of their fate is determined by permanent employment or placement in permanent care." The idea was brought to life only thanks to disinterested assistance of the merchant family of the Rukavishnikovs. Hereditary honorary citizens Ivan, Mitrofan, Sergei, Nikolai Mikhailovich Rukavishnikovs and their sisters Varvara Mikhailovna (married Burmistrova) and Yulia Mikhailovna (married Nikolaev) equipped and provided the Company with three two-story stone buildings, a three-story stone service and a large outbuilding piece of land. The House of Diligence, opened on the corner of Varvarskaya and Mistrovskaya Streets, was named after Mikhail and Lyubov Rukavishnikov, the parents of the donors. The family's help, of course, was not limited to this: the Rukavishnikovs regularly donated significant funds for the maintenance of the House of Labor, took an active part in improving production activities, in organizing the education of children (to a large extent, a parish school was opened here at their expense), in the organization libraries, etc. The results were not slow to affect: at the 16th All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition, which took place in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896, the products of the House of Industriousness received diplomas that corresponded to gold and bronze medals. The public recognition of the usefulness and merits of the new institution was evidenced by the visit to the House of Industriousness by Emperor Nicholas II and his wife on July 19, 1896. Following this visit, which prompted a series of follow-up visits from dignitaries, charitable donations have been very significant. This made it possible by 1905 to equip a new building of the House (in a somewhat rebuilt form it has survived to the present day), to increase the number of people in attendance (usually there were 500-550 people, and, for example, in 1903, 63,594 people dined) and to expand production (mats, mops, tow, lifebuoys, etc., exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1900). There were so many donors that only individual names can be cited: in addition to the Rukavishnikovs, whose donations amounted to tens of thousands of rubles, merchants Kurepin and Ermolaev, the steamer Kamensky, Archbishop Makarii, the Merchant Bank of Nizhny Novgorod, senior stockbroker Lelkov, the Bashkir firms, provided assistance to the House of Industriousness, Zhuravlevs, Polyak and even ... a Chinese troupe! In general, according to the chronological list of members of the Trusteeship Society about the House of Industriousness, one can study the history of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants.

With private donations, a number of almshouses were opened for single, sick, elderly and crippled women. Among them: the Nikolaev-Minin public almshouse (supported by the contributions of the merchants Vyalov and Perepletchikov), the Aleksandrovsk city public female almshouse (existed on deductions from the profits of the Nikolaev public bank and on the collection from merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds, established by the verdict merchant society, as well as on the benefits of the zemstvo). According to the decision of the board, the Aleksandrovsky noble bank transferred 1,500 rubles annually for the maintenance of the orphanage. The Nizhny Novgorod bourgeois society maintained the House of Charity for the poor bourgeoisie, the funds of which consisted of donations and income from society events. Small almshouses in the districts of the Nizhny Novgorod province are well known: in Balakhninsky (Gorodets village - at the expense of the merchant of the 2nd guild Lazutin), Semenovsky (Filippovo village - at the expense of N.A.Bugrov), etc. For example, to create the Filippovskaya women's almshouse (1894) Bugrov contributed capital of 80 thousand rubles to state credit institutions, on the interest from which the almshouse existed. At the same time, using the right of a benefactor, Bugrov stipulated in the charter the confessional nature of the institution: "An almshouse ... is appointed for the care of forty elderly or crippled females from among the Old Believers who accept the priesthood"; the construction of a church or chapel in its building was not allowed. The history of the establishment, founded in 1902, is also interesting. Society for the care of the poor in the village. Sormovo Balakhninsky district (at that time Sormovo was not part of Nizhny Novgorod). Industrial development with. Sormovo made it possible for its wealthy residents to provide regular assistance to their poor fellow countrymen. The income of the Society headed by V.N. Meshcherskaya (on her initiative it was created) and representatives of the intelligentsia (mainly employees of factories), was usually calculated in 2-3 thousand rubles a year and consisted of donations from individuals, charity performances and concerts, as well as organized "collection of unnecessary papers" (the only mentioned in documents of this kind about the collection of waste paper!). Assistance was provided, as a rule, in the form of cash benefits for food and medical treatment, in the supply of clothing and footwear; in addition, material assistance was provided to students from poor families. But at the same time, the board of the Society paid attention to the cause of poverty (for example, illness or lack of work for the head of the family) and refused to help drunkards.

Of course, not always living conditions the poorhouses were as good as the Widows' House or the House of Diligence. An example is the "Bed shelter in Nizhny Novgorod", which has become widely known thanks to the work of M. Gorky, established by the city duma on May 30, 1880. Designed to provide an opportunity "to spend the night not in the open air" and intended "for all who come regardless of condition, gender and age," the shelter was designed for 450 men and 45 women. The meager funds of the city budget were not enough for its maintenance, and again they had to resort to charitable assistance. Only donations to N.A. helped to make ends meet. Bugrov, in honor of whose father the orphanage was named “after A.P. Bugrov "(" Bugrovskaya shelter "). Raising additional funds turned out to be extremely difficult for the trustees - well-known Nizhny Novgorod merchants Akifiev, Frolov and Chernov.

Donations were usually made in two forms: either the targeted transfer of some amount (I.M.Rukavishnikov donated 2 thousand rubles to pay arrears from the property of poor homeowners), or the money was placed in a bank, and the interest from the deposit went purposefully for the maintenance of the shelter, almshouse etc. (for example, the Widow's House and the House of Diligence were maintained, including at a fixed percentage of capital placed in banking institutions). A characteristic and remarkable fact is that not only very wealthy citizens, but also people of average income, were involved in charity work. For example, the collegiate registrar P.O. Troitsky in 1911, in an address addressed to the trustee of the Moscow educational district, declares that he is ready to support financially poor students and the educational institution itself, opened in Nizhny Novgorod by his son V.P. Troitsky.

Health care

In the health sector, examples of charity are as frequent as in the field of social welfare, although there has never been a provincial stewardship committee. Apparently, there was simply no need for such an administrative and advisory body to attract donations to health care. The rather generous gift of the Nizhny Novgorod landowner, retired Colonel S. Martynov, is known, who in the first half of the 19th century donated the land that belonged to him to the Order of Public Charity for the organization of a hospital. After that, for many years, the Nizhny Novgorod provincial hospital was called "Martynovskaya" as, indeed, the street on which it was located (now Semashko street). The rapid development of medicine in the second half - the end of the 19th century led to the opening of new hospitals, the demand for which was very high. And here the role of private donations became even more pronounced. So, the vowel of the Nizhny Novgorod Duma, the merchant of the 1st guild D.N. Babushkin donated buildings, land and 20 thousand rubles for the device of a city hospital in the Makaryevskaya part in his own house. After the death of D.N. His grandmother's memory was immortalized by the installation of a memorial plaque on the building of his hospital and the introduction of a nominal bed in one of the wards. Knyagininsky 2nd guild merchant P.I. Karpov kept an infirmary and a refugee shelter in Reshetikha until his death. Nizhny Novgorod 1st guild merchant A.I. Kostromin donated 4 thousand rubles for the repair of the 1st Gradskaya Hospital.

To understand the role of private and public philanthropy in health care, let us turn to history Mariinsky obstetric institution... It was established in memory of the visit to Nizhny Novgorod in 1869 by the heir to the throne, Alexander Alexandrovich (the future tsar Alexander III) with his wife Maria Fedorovna (her name was the institution). In those days, it became an urgent need "to provide women in labor with a shelter at the time of childbirth, with free maintenance and obstetric benefits", and to ensure "the continued existence of orphaned babies." The management committee of the institution, headed by the mayor (ex officio), tried to attract not only private, but also public donations. As a result, the income of the Mariinsky obstetric institution and the orphanage department founded under it in 1878 consisted mainly of deductions from the city budget and donations from the Nikolaev public bank. In 1873, the merchant Yakov Makarovich Korolev bequeathed 20 thousand rubles for the construction of a house at the Mariinsky obstetric institution for the stay of infants who have lost their mother. The interest on this capital invested in the public bank provided a significant part of the institution's expenses. At the same time, the annual increase in the number of patients at the Mariinsky institution (from 800 in the 1890s to 1800 in the 1900s) led to a significant increase in costs, which made private charity clearly insufficient.

And yet, the tradition of private donations in the field of health care proved to be in demand in the extreme conditions of hostilities waged by the Russian Empire. Reception from military hospitals and medical care for the sick and wounded required significant efforts not only by the state, but also by the public. Leafing through the archived reports of the Nizhny Novgorod local government and the ladies' committee of the Society for the Care of the Wounded and Sick Warriors (1878), hospitals during the Russo-Japanese (1904-1905) and World War I (1914-1918) wars, we again find on their pages the familiar names of benefactors : merchants Bugrov, Zaitsev, Markova, Khlebnikov, representatives of the intelligentsia Karelin, Oliger, Torsueva ...

Confessional charity

The Russian Orthodox Church was a constant object of charity of citizens, regardless of the size of their capital: the most famous people of the city donated to the temple (Zhivonosovskaya church on Rozhdestvenskaya street was repaired and equipped with funds from the Rukavishnikov family, Spasskaya - from the Bashkirov family), but also ordinary citizens, names which history has not preserved.

For the period from the second half of the 19th century in the Nizhny Novgorod province, documents have been preserved about diocesan trusteeship. So, during the spiritual consistory there was diocesan trusteeship for the poor in clergy, subordinate to the ecclesiastical department and headed (ex officio) by a bishop - bishop (archbishop). The trusteeship included representatives of the spiritual consistory (the body of the diocese leadership). The duty of this body was to take care (“charity”) of the families of poor clergymen, to pay them material allowances, to place their children in educational institutions on preferential terms, and so on. The budget of the guardianship was formed at the expense of deductions from the treasury for the maintenance of the spiritual department, as well as at the expense of private donations (the ratio of these two parts of the budget cannot be traced in the documents).

For the purposes of religious and moral education and enlightenment in the Nizhny Novgorod province, a number of brotherhoods were established, whose members were actively involved in charity. Nizhny Novgorod Orthodox Brotherhood in the Name of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich, established in 1883 "with the aim of maintaining existing and opening new parish schools" and managed by a council mainly of clergy, was able to attract and direct financial assistance to the needs of schools from many landowners in the counties of the province. So, according to a report for 1889-1890, Count A.D. Sheremetev, N.E. Stogov, L.I. Turchaninov, who provided premises and building materials for schools; monetary donations were made by the merchants A.F. Sapozhnikov, P.A. Soklov, A.I. Nikolaev; The bourgeoisie, village priests, and retired military personnel provided all possible material assistance to schools through the brotherhood. Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius, created "to promote the religious and moral education of the poor students of the Nizhny Novgorod gymnasium" and providing them with financial benefits, clothing and footwear, free medical care, etc., also attracted generous benefactors to cooperation. Large subsidies were allocated by the aforementioned Rukavishnikov family, each member of which paid a personal stipend to the gymnasium students who lived in the brotherhood's hostel. MM. Rukavishnikov, who took over the duties of chairman of the Council of the Brotherhood, made the main contribution of 17 thousand rubles, the interest from which went to the support of the brotherhood; he also built at his own expense a house for a fraternal hostel. Monetary donations were made by representatives of the local clergy, intelligentsia, merchants. An increase in the flow of donations was also facilitated by the fact that the Nizhny Novgorod ruler and governor officially adopted the name “patrons of the brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius”. The goals were similar. Minin brotherhood, which contained in Nizhny Novgorod a city primary school, a vocational school, and a shelter for the poorest students. The most prominent benefactors here were the merchant A.A. Zaitsev (chairman of the brotherhood council and caretaker of a craft school) and D.A. Ceremonials, bequeathed capital to the brotherhood, from which more than 1.5 thousand rubles of interest were received annually. A considerable part of the income came from the annual contributions of members of the brotherhood - officials, teachers, wealthy townspeople. In addition, the fraternity received subsidies from city and estate government.

The province also acted parish trusteeship, consisting of local clergymen and volost elders as "indispensable members" (that is, by office), as well as parishioners elected for a certain number of years. These guardianships played the role of an advisory body for managing the parish and resolved issues of financing and maintaining churches, transferring money to almshouses, and control over parish schools. According to the documents, private donations played a significant role in the budget of these trustees. An example of a parish charity is, for example, the activities trusteeship at the Nizhny Novgorod Trinity Upper Posad Church... According to the report for 1913-1914, the trusteeship, which consisted mainly of clergy, using its authority, managed to collect 1,351 rubles 99 kopecks in a year (the last pre-war). In addition to large contributions from merchants D.G. Morozov and V.M. Burmistrova, as well as rental income, small donations (up to 10 rubles) from less well-off parishioners were not uncommon. The collected money was spent on helping poor parishioners and beggars, burying the poor, as well as for repairing the church, buying liturgical literature, etc. Both income and expense were public: annual reports were required to be published (this was the general rule). Of course, parish trusteeships in the districts acted in exactly the same way (it is curious that in some of them Father John Ilyich Sergeev - John of Kronstadt, who usually donated 100 rubles at a time) is listed among the benefactors.

In the Nizhny Novgorod province, until 1917, confessional charity was widespread not only among the parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also in all national-religious communities that existed at that time in our region. And this is no coincidence: after all, in all religions of the world, helping poor fellow believers is the first commandment. And this commandment was sacredly observed by the Nizhny Novgorod Old Believers - zealots of ancient Orthodox piety. Here again there is a reason to recall the Bugrovs and Blinovs families, who channeled large funds both for the common good ("The Widow's House") and for the good of the Old Believers (churches and chapels, almshouses in the Semyonovsky district, schools for teaching icon painting and book-writing, skillful embroidery, liturgical singing according to the ancient canon). And how many generous donors, who preferred to remain anonymous, annually sent funds and supplies to the trans-Volga monasteries “to feed the elders and elders”! Today, only the ancient skete synodikas keep the names of those benefactors for whom prayers were offered up in the Kerzhen deserts for many years ...

The commandment to help the needy was always observed by the Muslims of the Nizhny Novgorod province - mainly Tatars-Mishars, usually referred to in documents of those years as "Sergach Tatars" (until 1917 their number was about 70-80 thousand people with a noticeable predominance of the rural population). The funds collected annually among the prosperous traders at the fair and wealthy peasants, mosques and madrasahs were opened in the villages of the Sergach district and in Nizhny Novgorod itself, and assistance was provided to needy families. Archival documents have preserved the name of the Akhun of the Nizhny Novgorod Mosque, Sokolov, a spiritual mentor who made a great contribution to the organization of charity among Muslims. Relatively small but very influential communities of Catholics and Lutherans had their own parish charitable societies in Nizhny Novgorod (their total number did not exceed 1.5-2 thousand people; the ethnic composition was, respectively, Poles and Lithuanians, Germans). And although among the parishioners of the church and the church there were many people with material wealth (nobles, officials, officers), donations were always collected here too - for the maintenance of the church, to help families who have lost their breadwinner, to pay scholarships to low-income students, for a dowry for brides and etc. The organizers of the parish charity were almost always representatives of the clergy. Today, in an old, inferior photograph in the Address-Calendar, you can see priest Pyotr Varfolomeevich Bitnoy-Shlyakhto - a young man with a lush head of blond hair and a wide smile. It was to him that the Nizhny Novgorod Catholics owed so much, but today even we, archivists, do not know how his life developed after 1917 ... national culture Rabbi of Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir Baruch Zakhoder (1848-1905) stood at the origins of a charitable society in the Jewish religious community (the number of Jews in the province ranged from several hundred people in the 1880s to 3 thousand people in 1914). On the initiative of B.I. Zakhodera, the building of the Nizhny Novgorod synagogue (1881-1883, Bolotov per., No. 5) was built on the private donations of all parishioners - an interesting architectural monument; at the expense of the merchant G.A. Poyalka and his sons, the Talmud-Torah spiritual school was opened and operated; a society for helping the poor also arose, the first chairman of which was the well-known philanthropist, merchant of the 2nd guild G.M. Becker. There is evidence that donations for the benefit of the poor were also collected in the very small Armenian and Karaite communities of Nizhny Novgorod.

Thus, the individual initiative of the residents of Nizhny Novgorod played, apparently, a large role in the trusteeship at the local level - in parish councils (both Orthodox and other confessions), as well as in district trusteeships for the poor. Unfortunately, the documents of district trusteeships about the poor, subordinate to local governments (city councils and councils, volost boards), have been poorly preserved (there are, for example, mentions of holding charity concerts"The fourth Kanavinsky city district guardianship for the poor"). It can only be stated that the work of these bodies intensified during the First World War (1914-1918). The budget of these trusteeships, as well as the refugee councils and committees operating in Nizhny Novgorod since 1915 ("Tatianinsky", national-religious, assistance to the families of the victims, etc.) was formed not so much at the expense of the treasury, but at the expense of private charity.

Charity in the penitentiary system

It so happened in Russia that from time immemorial people imprisoned in prisons evoked the most sincere compassion. And therefore it was considered a manifestation of high piety "to give alms to the unfortunate with prayer" (remember "Provincial Essays" by ME Saltykov-Shchedrin!), To find funds "to help prison inmates", or even just say a sympathetic word to them. Perhaps there was a not fully conscious desire to prevent the condemned from becoming embittered with the whole world, to relieve their sinful souls with mercy and repentance. Or maybe there was also an understanding of the innocence of many of the poor fellows who were imprisoned and imprisoned: after all, this often happened in Russia. It was not for nothing that in all social strata of Russian society there was a proverb: "Do not excuse yourself from prison and from your bag" ... Be that as it may, in the Nizhny Novgorod province in the 18th-19th centuries it was customary to release prisoners on Sundays to collect alms and feed - from prison, district "prison castles", from prison companies ...

Since 1819, guardianship in the penitentiary (prison and correctional) system... During this period, the Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Prison Trustees Committee, subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and later to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The minister who headed the trusteeship in this area on a national scale was called the "president of trusteeship"; the provincial committee was headed by the governor (less often the vice-governor), who was called the “vice-president”; the members of the committee (the highest provincial officials of the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice) were called “directors”. In its activities, the provincial committee relied on a network of county committees, which included the administrative and police leadership of the counties. For guardianship in women's prisons, the wives of the highest officials of the province were included in the committees. In addition to committees, in the period before the reforms of the 1860-1870s. existed guardianship at the Nizhny Novgorod prison company led by the commander of a garrison battalion (that is, local internal troops), with similar functions.

The committees decided almost exclusively the economic issues of the detention of prisoners, and also considered the requests of prison officials for incentives, conducted business correspondence on the repair of prison buildings. The budget of the committees was formed at the expense of funds allocated for the correctional system by the treasury. A significant part of the documentation of the committees is made up of financial statements and reports, from which, for example, it follows that in 1863, 7 kopecks of daily allowance were released for the maintenance of one prisoner in the Nizhny Novgorod province (for comparison: in Moscow - 6 kopecks, St. Petersburg - 9 kopecks, Kazan - 4 kopecks). Much attention was paid to increasing the profitability of the prison department at the expense of the labor of the prisoners themselves; private donations, judging by the documents, were negligible. In the protocols of the provincial committee, there are acts of inspection of the sanitary and hygienic state of the cells (there are complaints about stuffiness, stale air, etc., a ban on drying clothes in cells on stoves); there are also recommendations to read more often with prisoners literature on religious and moral topics, but such materials in archival funds are relatively rare.

As a result of the actions of the system of guardianship bodies, private charity practically disappeared from the penitentiary system by the beginning of the 20th century. The committees on prisons, having become purely administrative and advisory bodies, stopped attracting donations from individuals, interrupting the centuries-old tradition of merciful assistance to prisoners. Therefore, it is natural that in the memoir literature there are numerous complaints about the abuse of these officials, and in general about the members of the committees of guardians of prisons.

Charity and concern for people's sobriety

In 1894-1897, organs are created guardianship of popular sobriety subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We must immediately admit that this business was relatively new: the tradition of charity in this area did not develop, and the usual church teachings about the dangers of drunkenness were practically not supported by private donations (for the non-Orthodox communities of our region, the problem of drunkenness was not at all relevant). And the level of development of medicine until the end of the 19th century was such that there was no need to count on a cure for alcoholism, and therefore there was no need to donate to special hospitals. But by the end of the 19th century, the problems of alcoholism in Russia began to be clearly understood by the authorities, which caused the "initiative from above".

In the Nizhny Novgorod province was created and began to operate provincial committee of guardianship of popular sobriety, relied on a network of county committees. The provincial committee was headed ex officio by the governor (in fact, at the beginning of the 20th century it was headed by the vice-governor; in particular, many of the committee's initiatives are associated with the name of the vice-governor S.I.Biryukov). The committee, also ex officio, included the highest provincial officials of various departments: manager of the provincial committee of state property, manager of excise duties, head of the provincial gendarme administration, chairman of the district court, bishop, director of public schools (from the Ministry of Public Education), as well as representatives of the zemstvo and the head of local government - the mayor. The composition of the county committees was similar, where all the administrative-police and spiritual leadership of the county was also present. The committees (especially the uyezd ones) also included rival members from the merchants and the intelligentsia, but their influence was insignificant.

The tasks of the committees were: organizing explanatory work on the dangers of drunkenness, creating conditions for sober leisure time (permission to open tea houses, organizing and conducting theatrical performances, folk festivals, etc.), monitoring compliance with the rules of alcohol trade. The budget for the guardianship of popular sobriety was formed at the expense of deductions from the treasury, fees from the sale of moralizing literature, from the financial activities of opened tea houses, as well as private donations. However, according to the documents, public participation in the activities of these committees was negligible (apart from the attempts noted by the gendarmerie to use legal meetings in teahouses for revolutionary work). The archival funds preserved the estimates of the committees. For example, the Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Committee of Trusteeship of People's Sobriety approved in 1909 a parish in the amount of
25,000 rubles (mainly funds from the treasury and from teahouses) and an expense in the same amount (for the maintenance of the same teahouse and free public libraries). At the same time, the charitable fees amounted to 600 rubles, and the expenses for the office work of the committees were 500 rubles a year! It is characteristic that the committees annually asked to increase the receipts from the treasury.

The situation on the ground was no better. So, "Special Nizhny Novgorod Fair Committee of Guardianship of People's Sobriety", founded in 1901, filed almost all reports with a significant excess of the expenditure side over the income. An example is a tea house on Samokatskaya Square: in 1907, income - 627 rubles 08 kopecks, expenses - 945 rubles 05 kopecks; in the Lubyanka Garden in the same year, the income was 7143 rubles 08 kopecks, and the expense was 10 765 rubles 75 kopecks. It became clear that without regular private subsidies, just selling tea with sugar and lecturing on the dangers of alcoholism, guardianship for people's sobriety could not exist for long. And there were practically no private donations - and this despite the solid representation of fairmen in the committee (P.M. Kalashnikov, F.A.Mazurkevich, A.A. at the behest of the soul). Sobriety societies were also opened in rural areas, for example, in the villages of Pavlovo (1899) and Shapkino (in the parish of the Kazan Church, 1908) of the Gorbatovsky district, in the village of Bolshoye Pole (in the parish of the Zosimo-Savvatievskaya Church, 1912) of the Makaryevsky district, etc. , but it seems that the matter did not go further than registration of statutes ...

The activities of guardianships for popular sobriety in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are negative, but still a very important historical experience, testifying to the deliberate doom of any undertaking that does not rely on popular support.

Emergency charity

Some charities were of an extraordinary nature, with funding from both private donations and the treasury. An example is Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Charity Committee, actively operating during the famine of 1892. The committee included: Governor
N.M. Baranov (chairman), bishop, a number of prominent officials of the provincial government, representatives of the merchants (in particular, N.A.Bugrov, P.I. Lelkov), intelligentsia
(V.G.Korolenko), zemstvos (N.F. Annensky), doctors, etc. The Committee organized the opening of free public canteens, the issuance of loans in cash and grain to those in need, controlled the dispatch of medicines (through the society of doctors), and encouraged donations in every possible way. It is interesting to note that thanks to the governor's support, significant funds were received not only from individuals, but also from officials of official institutions and educational institutions (“subscription fees”).

Essays by V.G. Korolenko "In a Hungry Year", written in hot pursuit of events (they were published as a separate book in 1893), provide an opportunity to get to know more closely the activities of the Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Charity Committee and its results, feel the atmosphere of the Committee meetings, see the practical work that was carried out by those who were not indifferent to someone else's misfortune people. Among them was Vladimir Galaktionovich himself: “At the end of February 1892, on a clear frosty evening, I left Nizhny Novgorod along the Arzamas tract. I had about a thousand rubles with me [comparable to the annual income of a small parish trusteeship. - BP], given by kind people at my disposal for direct assistance to the starving, and an open sheet from the provincial charitable committee, which pleased, for its part, to supply me with instructions that completely coincided with my intentions. (...) I had to spend three months in the district, without interrupting this addictive work, and then return there again, before the new harvest ... ". Talented writer and a deeply decent person, Korolenko described what the preserved official documents of those years are silent about. From the pages of essays appear before the reader a thirteen-year-old peasant girl Feska, who “does not eat according to the law” (because she was not included in the list of diners in the free canteen), the inhabitants of the village of Dubrovka (“Write all of them in a row! .. We are all poor! residents! "), the peasant Maxim Savoskin, who died of hungry typhus (" Nutro "did not accept anything, and soon Savoskin died"), the need of the Pralevian peasants ("Liszt is dying ..."). And next to this - the heartlessness of bureaucratic orders that doomed entire villages to starvation (“Alas! - it turned out that gentlemen zemstvo chiefs rushed to cut loans in all families in which someone used the canteen. I already knew about this, but hoped to achieve (and achieved) the cancellation of a strange order that made all private charity completely pointless. "); the arbitrariness of the county authorities, whose actions nullified the results of private charity (“... From the province, people are indicated on the spot who agreed to take over the management of canteens, and these people, upon submitting their estimates, were sent through the county guardianship money to open canteens. But then something completely unexpected happened: the trusteeship, instead of transferring the money to its intended purpose, sequestered it and transferred it to the zemstvo plots. those who were sent to a certain cause were isolated from the people who asked them ").

Reflecting on his experience of participating in the work of the Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Charitable Committee, V.G. Korolenko wrote: “There are two possible methods of helping the population within the framework of private charity. The first is when an intelligent person who lives or even settled for a long time in a village in need, enters into direct, more or less close communication with those whom he helps. In this case, he can add moral support to material assistance, he can give to people he knows and who know him, everything that he is capable of, everything that is at his disposal from moral and material resources... (...) Without a doubt, this is the most sympathetic, complete and humane form of charity, establishing a certain reciprocity between the recipient and the giver, finally bringing the greatest satisfaction to both parties. (...) However, there is another trick, and it fell to my lot, due to the circumstances. No matter how good, no matter how beneficial moral communication and reciprocity, however, a piece of bread, in itself, is a great good where it is lacking ... ".

The essays of the great writer-righteous Russian land, cited in such detail here, help to understand a very simple, in essence, thing: private charity, stumbling upon bureaucratic obstacles and prohibitions of the authorities, is doomed to failure, but any good undertakings of the administration are likewise doomed to failure. not relying on broad public support.

Thus, charity and trusteeship in the Nizhny Novgorod region have long traditions, and their manifestations were multifaceted. It was a very honorable business, and people who showed themselves in this field were highly respected in society. There are cases when the titles of honorary trustees were specifically requested. For example, documents show that in 1866 an official of the excise department A.K. Kirkor donated 100 rubles in silver to the orphanages and, pledging to transfer 50 rubles in silver each year in the future, he submitted a petition to the Nizhny Novgorod provincial guardianship of orphanages for enrollment in the number of honorary members of the guardianship. The official's request was granted.

It should be noted that the Nizhny Novgorod governors and officials of the provincial government bodies welcomed the manifestation of charity. There were several possible forms of reward for regular, large-scale charity: a written expression of gratitude, a welcome address, a diploma, cash incentives (lump sum or "pay raise"). The Board of Trustees had the right to present the most distinguished "honorary members" to government awards: a written "expression of the Highest gratitude", a valuable gift (for example, a ring with an imperial monogram), orders and medals. Information about all forms of encouragement was obligatory entered into the “form list” (personal file). It is known from archival documents that V.E. Sapozhnikov for his "excellent zeal" service was awarded the Orders of St. Stanislaus, 2nd and 3rd degree, St. Anna, 2nd degree; merchant of the 2nd guild A.A. Vesnin, who donated 10,000 rubles to the Nativity Church in Nizhny Novgorod, received "gold medals for wearing on the chest on the Stanislavovskaya and Anninskaya ribbons." As the highest recognition of merits in the cause of charity, the Nizhny Novgorod industrialist Ya.E. Bashkirov, who was awarded the title of "honorary citizen" in 1898, was elevated to hereditary nobility by the decree of Emperor Nicholas II of June 13, 1912 ("in consideration of outstanding charity and social activities").

And in conclusion, let us try to answer the question: why in those distant times did our fellow countrymen so actively strive to help their neighbors? What motivated people who donated money (sometimes considerable!) For the benefit of the poor? This question, which inevitably arises when working with documentary materials on the history of Nizhny Novgorod charity, deserves special consideration.

First of all, it is necessary to firmly reject the version of granting benefactors the right to preferential taxation. There were no tax benefits for those involved in charity in pre-revolutionary Russia and could not have been! (The introduction of the principle of "compensation for losses incurred from charitable activities" is incompatible with the very concept of a good creation). Further, it must be understood that both before 1917 and after all people were different, which means that everyone could have their own, personal incentives that did not coincide with the rest. And very often one can only guess about these motives, because people not only did not explain them in official documents, but often could not explain them, acting unconsciously, obeying the dictates of the soul and the traditions of previous generations. It is quite obvious that for many Nizhny Novgorod residents, the main reason for significant donations for the public good was the desire to fulfill the religious commandment to help one's neighbor (it is no coincidence that we began this essay by mentioning these commandments). But it is also quite obvious that at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, for that part of Nizhny Novgorod society that moved away from religion (and there were many of them among the intelligentsia), religious motives did not play a decisive role. But after all, atheistically-minded revolutionary democrats have always made their contribution to helping their neighbors: let us recall the selfless work of V.G. Korolenko in that hungry year 1892, let us remember M. Gorky, who was never mentioned in the "duty cage" of Nizhny Novgorod benefactors, who, with his literary fees, helped everyone who turned to him, literally saved people from starvation, paid for education and treatment for those in need; let us also recall the selfless devotion of many teachers, doctors, agronomists, engineers ... Therefore, it would be more correct, apparently, to talk about moral motives of charitable work: after all, the ideals of selfless service to society were equally dear to people with a wide variety of beliefs.

It is very likely that some personal circumstances and subjective motives could have influenced participation in charitable activities. Judging by the documentary evidence of those years, among the trustees who generously donated large sums of money, there were many lonely people who did not have heirs or families at all (vivid examples are N.A.Bugrov and V.M.Burmistrova), and therefore sought to secure posthumous gratitude fellow countrymen with good deeds. By the way,
ON. Bugrov, distinguished by his great worldly wisdom and instinct, in the last years of his life spoke of the possibility of a social cataclysm in Russia (“The authorities, the police, and the army will sweep everything away”); It is not excluded that these sentiments explain the amazing generosity of the "advisor manufactory" in relation to the Seima peasants and the absolutely paradoxical assistance to the revolutionary movement.

In some cases, class solidarity could become an incentive. As you know, until 1917 Russia was an estate state, which could not but affect charity. In our province, examples of collective estate charity are known: for example, the Nizhny Novgorod noble deputy assembly allocated funds for the creation of a Women's noble hostel, to help families of low-income noblemen and support their children in the Nizhny Novgorod cadet corps and the Alexander noble institute. There were also examples of private charity: for example, the widow of Staff Captain Karataev, E.D. Karataeva, transferred to the creation of a hostel for the charity of poor noblemen and a shelter for their children the buildings that belonged to her, and both institutions were supported, including on interest from the capital she placed in the Aleksandrovsky noble bank. To the shelter for the charity of the poor noblemen M.B. Prutchenko, vice-governor and former manager of the Treasury, donated 15 thousand rubles at a time. Finally, spending on public benefits could become a kind of repentance: it seems that the generosity of the landowner S. Martynov and his family members was caused by the desire to atone for the sin of his son Nikolai, who killed the poet M.Yu. Lermontov.

Analysis of the composition of trustees in various committees and societies of the Nizhny Novgorod province made it possible to identify interesting feature: almost exclusively from the merchants were grain producers, millers, ship owners, clothing and footwear manufacturers, owners of light and woodworking industries - in a word, those who, in the conditions of our region, did not have a monopoly on their products. To survive in the fierce competition on the Russian market in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these entrepreneurs were helped by government contracts (“state orders,” in modern terms). The decision to grant government contracts was made locally by the administrative authorities, that is, ultimately, the governor - the “head of the province” and the indispensable (ex officio) chairman of almost all trusteeship committees, obliged to report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for their work. Is it not the desire to gain fame and favor with the authorities (and in the end to get the longed-for contract) conceals the secret of the activity with which some Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneurs rushed into custody? vodka king "A.V. Dolgov or the owners of chemical plants of the joint-stock company "Salolin" are "not noticed" in active charity work ...

And yet, I think, the main thing was not in this, but in the system of mutual assistance that literally permeated Nizhny Novgorod society until 1917. Almost all residents of the Nizhny Novgorod province, young and old, to one degree or another, were involved in this system, participating in the work of trusteeships with monetary contributions, providing free services, raising funds and attracting donors. Participants in charity events were not only merchants, but also officials of all ranks, the intelligentsia (noblemen and commoners), the clergy, student youth, townspeople and villager... People who have been disinterestedly helping the needy strata of the population for years were surrounded by honor. It is in fostering the traditions of highly moral public service that, in our opinion, lies the most important historical experience of Nizhny Novgorod charity.